Until the Robin Walks on Snow
by JRCash
Summary: AU set in Prohibition era Chicago. Han is a bootlegger, smuggling illegal liquor into the city to keep the Hutt's speakeasies in business. Leia is the daughter of Bail Organa, the city's mayor, whose goal is to shut down the illegal activities of the mob and put smugglers like Han out of work. A chance meeting between them brings their two opposite worlds colliding together. [WIP]
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own these characters. I just make them do stuff. I do not profit from this in any way, shape or form._

 _Reviews always appreciated!_

* * *

 **November 1928, Chicago.**

The cold winter wind was biting, blowing off the icy waters of Lake Michigan and howling thru the streets of downtown. Han Solo pulled his wool coat closer around his body, trying to preserve any bit of warmth left in his body as he turned onto Dearborn street. Trying to remember how far up the block he had parked his beloved Ford truck that he affectionately nicknamed the Falcon, the rumble of an el train from overhead rattled his thoughts. The Falcon wasn't much to look at, but she was fast. Han had spent the summer tinkering with her, a couple of extra jobs providing the funds for some special modifications on the old pick up truck.

Han had been working for the North Side Hutts, a crime family that had been reaping the rewards of prohibition, running barrels of illegal liquor over the border and into the cities' many underground speakeasies. The work was dangerous, but the payouts were good, the only downfall to the job was the inconsistency of work and the ever looming risk of getting caught. The mayor of Chicago, Bail Organa, had made it his mission to crack down on the mob, the illegal liquor pouring into his city causing a surge in crime as the Hutts battled other rival mobs to maintain their control. Fortunately for Han, the Hutts were always one step ahead of Mayor Organa's police force and knew exactly which officers to bribe to keep their operations running smoothly and without too many interruptions.

Reaching his truck, Han pulled open the door, the metal hinges creaking in the cold air. Sliding the key into the ignition, it took a few tries for the engine to turn over, but once it did, the Falcon purred contently as Han eased her from the parking spot and began to drive down the street.

He made his way thru downtown, the busy business district he had been in giving way to neighborhoods and industrial areas as he continued southbound. He had been staying in a room he rented from Fiona Doyle, a middle aged Irish immigrant whose life had been less than lucky since coming to Chicago. Han liked Fiona. She was doing the best she could do after being widowed at too early of an age. Mr. Doyle had worked the steel mills, pulling a decent paycheck and providing a stable life for his wife until an unfortunate accident at work took him from her too soon. Fiona now survived by a small check from the government every month and taking in bachelors like Han, renting out the extra bedrooms upstairs in her two flat. Han looked at her almost like the mother he never had, sometimes getting annoyed that she was a little too overprotective of him, telling him that his newsboy cap wouldn't keep his ears warm and asking too many questions of where he was going or why he was coming back late.

Pulling up to the two flat, he threw the Falcon into park along the curb and hopped out of the truck. He was more than ready to get inside, the cold had seeped into his bones and he felt as though he would never get warm again.

"Han Solo" a man's voice cut thru the cold air, stopping Han in his tracks. He knew that voice anywhere and knew this moment was coming sooner or later.

His last run, some barrels of gin coming over the border had gone to hell, forcing him and his accomplice, Chewie, to crack the barrels open and let the liquor flow into the sewer drain of an alley before running like hell so they weren't caught by the cops who were already hot on their tails. It was only a matter of time before word got around to the crime boss that Han hadn't delivered the shipment as promised.

Turning on his heel, Han was met by a portly man dressed in a long heavy coat, his double chin tucked into a knit scarf and a bowler hat pulled down low on top of his bald head.

"Jabba. I've been waitin' for ya" Han smoothly stated.

"Have you now" Jabba replied, making little effort to hide his displeasure with Han.

Shooting the man a lopsided grin, Han was trying to play it cool. He knew he was in a world of shit with the North Side Hutts. If Jabba bothered to hunt you down personally, it usually didn't end well. "Didn't think I was gonna run, did ya?"

"Han, my boy, you disappoint me. Why haven't you paid me? What if everyone who smuggled for me dropped their cargo at the first sign of the cops? It's not good business."

Han stopped, turning towards Jabba and firmly pointed his finger at the man. "Look, Jabba, even I have run ins sometimes. Think I had a choice? But I got a nice easy shipment coming down the river tonight. I'll pay you back, plus a little extra. I just need a little more time".

Adjusting his hat, Jabba nodded, seemingly satisfied with Han's promise. "Han, my boy, you're the best. So for an extra twenty percent…."

Han interrupted, waving his hand in front of Jabba. "Fifteen, Jabba. Don't push it".

"Okay, fifteen percent. But, if you fail me again, I'll put a price on your head so big, you won't be able to go anywhere in the midwest".

Han was already walking up the sidewalk towards the door of the apartment building, only stopping to turn and look over his shoulder for a moment to scoff "Jabba, you're a wonderful human being".

Pushing the wooden door to the two flat open, Han walked into the common front room. A large fire was burning in the fireplace and Fiona was sitting in a wingback chair working on her knitting. The room was still cold despite the roaring fire. Han almost swore he could see his breath in the air.

"It's freezing in here Fiona" Han remarked.

"No money for coal for the furnace again this week. If I got a couple of more boarders, this house would be warm" Fiona replied, her voice thick with an Irish drawl.

"I can see what I can do to get some coal for us if you want" Han offered. Last winter had been a cold one, and if the weather outside was any indication of the months to come, it was going to be another rough one.

"I don't want you getting in any more trouble. I saw that guy out in the yard earlier. Him and his cronies were out there waitin' on you for a couple of hours".

"You can't freeze all winter, Fiona".

"And I don't want to see you behind any more eight balls with the likes of those guys" she said as shook her finger at the front window. "If you're not careful Han, you're gonna get caught up and get locked away in Joliet. Or worse, blipped off in an alley somewhere".

Fiona didn't know exactly what Han did or where he went, but she wasn't a stupid woman. She knew the life Han lead was on the fringes of legality, if not one that was completely illegal. One week he'd be buying her enough groceries so they could eat like royalty and the next he was begging her for just a few more days to make the rent on his room. She had suggested to Han on more than one occasion to go find himself a good job, one that had a steady paycheck. She knew he had other skills. She had watched him fix things on the Falcon in the backyard and help her around the house with small carpentry jobs she couldn't afford to hire someone else for. Always met with a shake of his head in disapproval that would cause his shaggy hair to flop into his eyes, he'd tell her he'd think about it. Ya scruffy looking scoundrel, she'd usually laugh back at him, silently hoping one day he'd change his mind and make an honest man of himself.

"Don't worry about me" Han smiled as he turned to make his way upstairs.

"I know you're a smart lad. Just don't let that get to ya' head".

* * *

Finally on winter break from the University of Chicago, Leia felt like she could finally relax a bit. She was halfway thru her sophomore year studying political science and after weeks of preparing and taking finals, she was ready to have a little fun before the holiday season came. Her father, Bail Organa, was the mayor of Chicago, which meant as a family, the Organa's were expected to attend multiple holiday dinners and parties hosted by the city's wealthy and elite. Leia hated the functions but knew good social graces and her father's political career meant that she had to attend.

Her best friend, Winter, had invited her that evening to a function that she promised would be everything but polite and stuffy. Winter had a knack for finding out where the best jazz bands and parties in the city happened and was even better at convincing Leia to come along. As the daughter of the mayor, Leia knew that she was taking a risk. Her father's main goal as a politician was to clean up the city of the mobs and illegal speakeasies that had flourished since prohibition had begun. His career meant that he often spent long hours working, leaving Leia and Winter unquestioned on where they were going or what they were doing, a relief to her. As a young teenager, Leia had tried to sneak out of the house once, her father catching her halfway down the tree outside of her bedroom window, leading to a stern talking to from him and her never attempting it again. Winter never let her live it down, liking that now usually rule abiding Leia was now a little rebellious and up to an adventure with her.

Leia stood in front of her closet, rows of dresses hung neatly as she stared at them, undecided on which one she was going to wear. Picking up a hanger and turning towards her bed as she pressed the dress to her body, she sighed.

"What do you think, Winter? This one?"

"I don't know Leia. I like both of them. It's not like your prince charming is going to be waiting for you at this place" Winter replied, reaching from her spot on the bed to the table next to it. Picking up the gramophone needle, Winter flipped the record over, placing it back down, allowing for a new song to begin playing.

Winter had a point. While her friend hasn't shared many details of the party they were going to, Leia knew it was most likely going to be attended by college students and younger workers from the industrial mills in the area, not stuffy friends of her father's. Throwing the gown onto the bed next to Winter, she turned back to her closet, pushing aside the rows of fancy lace and ornately beaded dresses to find a simpler outfit.

Now dressed in a plain cream colored drop wasted dress, Leia finished pinning up the last bit of her chestnut braids as she turned towards Winter.

"Now you look like you can cut a rug" Winter laughed, happy to see that Leia actually looked casual for once. She always thought her friend dressed too old for her age. She was just 19, yet Leia was always so prim and proper, most people guessing she was much older than she really was. Tonight, she was just Leia, a normal girl who looked like any other college aged student out for a night on the town.

* * *

Winter knocked twice on the doorway to the large industrial building as they waited for a response. Leia rocked back and forth, her arms crossed against her body trying to keep warm, her nerves starting to get the best of her. The neighborhood they were in was unfamiliar to her. She had followed Winter's lead as they made their way to the address of the party, trusting her friend that she knew where they were going. The door opened a crack and a young man popped his head out into the cold night air, looking up and down the alley to make sure the coast was clear before addressing Winter.

"Password?" he stated, his eyes darting to the side, studying Leia for a moment.

"Mandalorian" Winter whispered to the man. At her word, the man nodded and pushed the door open wider to allow Winter and Leia into the building.

"Have fun tonight, ladies" the man chided to them as they walked down the hall, the faint sound of music and rowdy laughter echoing against the brick walls as they made their way towards the party.

* * *

Han had attempted to take a quick nap upon returning to to his room, piling on couple of extra quilts on his bed that Fiona had left for him. He'd finally drifted off and generated some warmth under the blankets when he was jolted awake by Fiona hollering outside his door that he had a phone call waiting for him downstairs. Pulling the heavy layer of blankets from him with a reluctant groan, he got up and opened the door.

"Took you long enough, sleepyhead" Fiona chided to Han as he sprinted past her and down the stairs, the wooden flooring squeaking under him.

Picking up the receiver, Han held the earpiece to his ear, a gruff voice coming thru the hiss of static.

"Just heard word. It's here" Chewie's deep baritone stated, not revealing much information but the message was perfectly clear to Han. One of Han's contacts, Lando Calrissian, had secured a shipment of liquor that needed delivery that night, a quick job with an even quicker payout. He'd have Jabba off his back in no time. Han was almost giddy at the idea that things seemed to be looking up for him.

"Alright. I'll pick you up in a couple of minutes". Setting the receiver back down into the holder, Han quickly turned in the hall smoothing down his tousled hair before picking up his coat from the hook on the wall.

"Running out so soon again, Han?" Fiona asked as she leaned against the banister of the staircase.

"Got some business to take care of tonight" Han casually replied as he finished buttoning his wool jacket and bending down to tug on his black boots.

"Just be careful".

"Always am" he replied as he pulled his worn newsboy cap on to his head, grasping the bill for a second, tipping it towards Fiona, a trademark smirk curling the corners of his mouth.

It took a few tries, but the Falcon had started. She didn't like the cold, but she always seemed to work after a little bit of extra caressing. Han pulled up outside of Chewie's building, the engine rumbling quietly as Han waited for his friend. _Hurry up, pal_ Han thought to himself as he watched the doorway, growing impatient that it was taking him so long. After a few minutes, the front door opened and Chewie came lumbering down the front walk.

Chewie sat down in the passenger's seat, folding his knees just so he could fit into the front of the Falcon. He was a enormously lanky man, well over six feet tall, with slicked back brown hair, piercing blue eyes and a beard that would rival a lumberjacks. Han never asked Chewie's real name or even where the strange nickname he used came from, but he was one of Han's closest friends and most trusted bootlegging partners. He knew Chewie always had his back, both of them getting each other out of tight situations before.

"Took ya long enough" Han said as he threw the Falcon into gear and started down the street.

Chewie reached into his coat pocket, unfazed by Han's remark as he drew out a pack of cigarettes. Tapping the carton, Chewie took one and put it to his lips before offering one to Han.

Han glanced over at his friend's offer. He usually wasn't much of a smoker, occasionally bumming a few if he'd been drinking or had a long drive ahead of him. "Ah, what the hell, why not" Han said as he reached for a cigarette. "I have a feeling tonight's gonna be a good night".

Cutting the headlights, Han turned from the main street onto a dead end side road that bordered the river. A low retaining wall ran along the end of the street, on the other side a partially hidden embankment sloped down to the water's edge. A thick underbrush of weeds and a few trees dotted the shore, camouflaging any activity that might take place below street level. The area surrounding the river was desolate, the only activity was the occasional river barge. The water hadn't frozen yet, but it was too late in the season for any nautical interruptions on this evening, a silence around them, the chirping crickets and birds of summer long gone as the cold air had already settled into the city.

Han and Chewie both exited the Falcon, easily hoping over the concrete wall and dropping down to the dirt below. A small path had been worn down that lead to the river's edge over time, Lando awaiting their arrival at the end of it. Han chuckled at Lando, looking all too overdressed to be pulling barrels of liquor out of a dirty river. The dark skinned man wore a light blue pea coat and golden brown slacks. He had a deep brown fedora cocked to the side on top of his head. Three men waited alongside of him, waiting for the order from Lando to load out the shipment.

"How you doin' Chewie? Still hanging around with this loser?" Lando chirped as the pair reached him.

"Still dressing like a drugstore cowboy, I see" Chewie chuckled back at him as he flicked his spent cigarette butt towards the water.

"Where's the stuff?" Han asked as he scanned the riverbank. He was more interested in getting the shipment loaded into the Falcon and on it's way than Lando and Chewie's banter.

"Right over here" Lando slapped Han on the shoulder with a smile. "Always more interested in business".

Han and Chewie followed Lando a few yards down the river's edge to behind a large tree. Lando pushed away what appeared to be a small pile of fallen branches and dried leaves on the ground to expose a iron cover set in a large square of concrete. Reaching down, he pulled open the trapdoor, exposing a hidden bunker of liquor barrels.

The Hutts had an extensive network of liquor suppliers around the Midwest. Using various modes of transport, the gang favored using the river that cut thru Chicago. Paying off barge workers meant large quantities of illegal liquor could be moved unnoticed amongst normal goods. Since the season had ended, the Hutts had made sure that the bunkers along the river had been stocked and ready to be moved by bootleggers on land such as Han and Chewie. After the first snow fell, the work would slow, but it was still possible to make a buck. The Hutts also had numerous truck drivers working for them, making runs over the borders into the backwoods of Wisconsin or into the farmlands of Indiana to bring back loads of hooch, although in much smaller quantities than the summer barge runners could haul.

Han smiled. There was more than enough hooch sitting in the hole tonight to pay back Jabba plus a little extra for him and Chewie.

"I'll have my men load it up". Lando gestured the men as they began to unload the barrels from the hiding place, rolling them up the embankment to Han's waiting Ford.

The Falcon looked like any other ordinary truck, but Han had modified it so that there were hidden compartments, reinforcing the frame to support the added weight of a heavy load. Chewie helped Han lift the top of the compartment hidden in the truck bed, allowing Lando's men to roll the first barrel up a makeshift plywood ramp into the waiting empty hold.

After a few more minutes, the Falcon was successfully loaded and the compartment top was secured back into place. Lando pulled a small brown bag from the inside of his coat and handed it to Han who in turn tucked it into his own coat pocket.

"Look for Fett when you get there. He'll have the rest of your payment" Lando instructed. Han already knew how the Hutts operated. Half on pickup, the rest on delivery, ensuring that no one pulled any funny business in between.

"See ya around" Han nodded toward Lando as he and Chewie climbed back into the Falcon. Turning the truck around, Han drove off down the street, flipping the headlights back on as he pulled onto the main street.

Making his way thru the neighborhood of Bridgeport, Han turned into an alley behind a large warehouse. Backing up the Falcon to a nondescript doorway, he left the engine running as he hopped from the driver's seat and walked to the metal door. Forming a fist, he pounded against it twice before taking a step back. He exhaled as he waited, his breath curling in a cloud in front of him in the frigid night air. Glancing up and down the alley, it was empty and quiet. The silence was broken as the door cracked open, a red haired man stepping out into the alleyway. Han recognized the man from other drop offs, but could never remember his name. It wasn't important, he was more interested in getting the barrels out of the Falcon and into the building so he could collect his other half of his payout.

"What you got for me tonight, Solo?" the man asked.

"Little of this, little of that" Han replied, not exactly sure what the barrels contained. Most of the time it was whiskey or gin, two of the most popular liquors in demand at the speakeasies such as the one he was currently delivering to.

Chewie opened the passenger's door, stretching his long legs from the Falcon as he made his way around to the back to assist Han with unloading. The red haired man was joined by a few other men as Han lifted the compartment on the Falcon open, allowing the men to unload the barrels and begin rolling them into the warehouse.

The red haired man watched as his men rolled the last barrel into the building, disappearing into the dark, leaving him, Han and Chewie alone in the alley.

"Open for business inside. Get a little reward for your hard work" the man tilted his head towards the large brick building behind him.

"Nah, just want to collect and get out of here" Han replied. He had little interest in actually participating in the parties that his bootlegging supplied. He was tired, he had every intention of returning to his room and going to bed.

"Come on. Just a couple drinks" Chewie interjected.

The man chuckled. "At least one of you wants to have a little fun. Go around to the other side, the alley by the oak tree. Fifth door down. You know the password".

Han and Chewie circled the block, parking the Falcon enough distance away from the building before walking to the alleyway to the doorway that the man had instructed as the correct one to knock on.

This particular speakeasy was hidden away down a series of hallways and stairwells in an old industrial factory. Climbing the last set of stairs, Han and Chewie entered into a large room, what was once the main work floor of the factory. The windows had been painted over, the room illuminated by overhead lighting that hung from the high ceilings. A long bar had been constructed against one of the walls and a stage featuring a rowdy jazz band playing on it was against the far wall. The dance floor in front of it was filled with couples, swinging and moving in rhythm with the music. Tables dotted the remaining area of the room, white table clothes draped over them with single candles placed in the center. The room was every bit as nice as many of the downtown clubs despite its warehouse setting, but with one major advantage in the prohibition age over any of the legitimate clubs. They served liquor, all sorts of drinks that were illegal everywhere else thanks to the Eighteenth Amendment. People from all walks of life joined together in the speakeasy, from the upper class to the lower class, everyone was here to enjoy themselves and under this roof, they were all equal in the fact what they were doing was illegal.

Han scanned the large room, spotting Fett sitting in a far corner at a table. Making his way thru the crowded, he slid into the bench next to the dark haired man dressed in a green and red sweater.

"Good to see you, Solo. Thanks again".

Han felt an object bump again his leg under the table. Another bag, the rest of his payment. He reached for it, taking it from Fett and discreetly tucking it into his coat.

"Catch you later, Fett".

Han stood from the table, easily blending into the crowd. How he had lost Chewie, that overgrown fuzzball, in the short time he was with Fett was beyond him. Hardly paying attention to where he was going, Han turned around, bumping directly into a petite brown haired girl. The drink she was holding sloshed from the glass in her hand, the liquor seeping into her cream colored dress, leaving a dark amber stain against the pale fabric.

"Oh god! I'm sorry!" Han exclaimed, fumbling towards his pants pocket for his handkerchief in disbelief that he had just knocked into the girl.

"Maybe if you watched where you going, you nerf herder" Leia snapped at Han, taking the handkerchief from his hand with a snap. Blotting at the stain on her dress, Han stood there, looking at her, not quite what to do. She was mad, rightfully so, but it was an accident on his part.

"At least let me make it right and get you a new drink" Han offered.

Leia paused, glancing up at him. "No, thank you" she curtly replied, giving up on trying to remove the stain. If anything the tattered piece of cloth he had offered her had only made it worse.

Attempting to reason with her, he hardly wanted some girl's evening to be ruined because of his clumsiness. "Look, it was a mistake".

Leia sighed. It had been an accident. If anything she was more annoyed that she agreed to come along to the party in the first place. Winter had been offered a dance from a man, leaving Leia to sit at a table alone. She had already turned down dances from a few men throughout the evening, all too drunk and bumbling crudely towards her as they tried to get her attention. Handing his handkerchief back to Han, Leia couldn't help to think that he was kind of cute, in a scruffy sort of way.

"Fine. I'll take you up on the drink. You do owe me one…" She trailed off, realizing their impromptu meeting had left no time for proper introductions.

"Han" he filled in the blank, extending his hand for a handshake.

"Leia" she replied as she shook his hand. He had a firm grip, his strong calloused fingers wrapping around her dainty hand.

"Well, Miss Leia, let's get you that drink then".

Han passed the glass of whiskey to Leia before taking a sip of his own. He couldn't stop staring at her as they found an empty table and sat down together. She was beautiful. Her pale skin contrasted starkly with her dark hair. She had it pinned up in an intricate braided style, much different than the popular waves and short bobs he'd seen most girls wearing. Han wondered what she looked like with it loose, why she hadn't chosen to cut it like many other woman had.

"So, Han, what brings you here tonight?" Leia asked, hoping to strike up a conversation with the handsome stranger.

"Just came with a friend" he partly lied to her. He was here with Chewie, and he was a friend of his. She didn't need to know he'd gotten the very liquor they were currently drinking to the place, this more of a work outing than anything for him.

"Me too. But she left me to go dance with some guy".

"Well, that's not very nice of her" Han laughed.

Leia giggled, taking another sip of her drink to disguise her smile. Han was charming, even if he was clumsy and most likely ruined her dress, she wasn't mad at him anymore.

Han noticed her smile, despite her efforts to hide it. She was very pretty when she smiled. Hell, he thought to himself, she was pretty when she was yelling at him earlier.

"Are you a mechanic?" Leia asked.

"What?"

"Your fingers, when you shook my hand, they were rough".

Han ran his palms against his pants leg under the table. _Are they really that bad?_ He was always a little self conscious about the callouses he had formed over the years. Fiona would tell him that it was a sign he was a man who knew a hard days work. To him, it was just a reminder of all the things he'd had done for a dollar over his lifetime, none of which were anything reputable enough to make him a decent man.

"I work on my truck a lot. I call her the Falcon".

Inquisitive of why Han would call his vehicle such a name, she tilted her head a bit as she asked "The Falcon?"

"Well, cause she's fast. You should come for a ride with me sometime".

Leia was surprised at how quickly Han had offered something like that, slightly taken aback. He seemed like enough of a gentleman, but Leia couldn't help to think he might be working his charms for other intentions from her. "Oh, I don't know".

"Okay, so that's a no? How about a dance instead?" Han offered. He didn't want Leia to think he was moving too fast. He'd just met the girl, he hardly wanted to scare her off already.

"I'd like that".

Han wasn't a great dancer, but he knew a few steps. He watched as Leia moved in front of him, hopping along with the quick tempo of the song the band was playing. Reaching out towards him, she wrapped her fingers through his, allowing for Han to spin her around before resting his other hand on her waist.

Han watched over Leia's shoulder as she continued to move under his touch, noticing two men moving along the wall near the main doorway. They were scanning the room suspiciously in a manner that Han recognized all too well to know what was about to happen next. Leia was unaware, her body still swaying in time to the music as Han stopped dancing.

Puzzled, Leia slowed down, staring at him. "Han? Why'd you stop? The songs not over".

Han grasped Leia's hand as he turned and began to pull her along, weaving his way through the other dancing couples, all blissfully unaware, lost in the music.

"Just keep up with me, Leia" Han warned over his shoulder at her, firmly gripping onto her as he lead them towards the back doorway of the room, away from the main entrance.

The music abruptly stopped as the main door swung open, a multitude of uniformed police officers storming into the room. "Chicago Police! This is raid!"

Han pushed Leia through the backdoor into a stairwell, pulling the heavy metal door shut behind them, the sounds of people screaming and running in every direction in the speakeasy behind them as they began to flee down the iron staircase.

"Keep up with me Leia! I know a way out of here" Han shouted to her, his voice echoing in the stairwell along with their footsteps.

"What the hell is happening?" Leia shot back to him, her eyes wide with panic as her short legs tried to keep up with his long strides.

Finally reaching the ground level of the warehouse, Han pushed open another door, the cold air of outside hitting them. Leia was out of breath but before she could even stop for a second, Han was grabbing her hand again as they took off running again down the alley. They ran the entire distance back to the Falcon, Han's pace finally slowing as they approached the truck. Leia slumped down on the curb next to it, taking a deep breath, trying to regain her composure.

"You alright?" Han asked, leaning against the front grill and looking down at her.

"I'm fine. Oh god, Winter. I hope Winter is okay".

"Winter?" Han questioned.

"My friend. She was off dancing with that guy".

Han knew how the police worked. They'd round as many people up as they could, weed out who was behind the operation and let everyone else go with a warning to not get caught again. He had every reason to get out of there, his coat pocket was still full of his payment, evidence that could clearly pin him to some kind of participation if he was searched. He didn't have to save Leia. He could have easily made an excuse to leave her when he first noticed the men near the doorway. For whatever reason, he couldn't have left her behind, something in him told him to save her too.

"She'll be okay".

"How'd you know another way out?" Leia asked.

"It's freezing out. You want to sit in my truck and warm up?" Han suggested, completely changing the subject to avoid answering Leia's question. He knew of the back staircase because he knew the Hutts always designed their speakeasies to have multiple entrances. Running everything from one door made it too easy to be watched, having things brought in from different sides made things harder to track.

Tugging at the passenger's door, it took most of Leia's strength to open it, the rusty hinges squeaking loudly. As she climbed into seat, she looked toward Han.

"So this is the Falcon?"

"Yup".

"What a piece of junk" she laughed, hardly believing Han loved this rickety old truck so much as to brag about it to her earlier in the evening.

"Easy now, she's got feelings!" Han ran his hand against the dash affectionately, silently telling his beloved truck that Leia didn't mean what she had said about her. "Do you need a ride home?"

"I guess I'll have to take you up on that offer after all".

Cutting thru side streets to avoid the warehouse, the Falcon bumped along the road, Leia sitting in silence as she watched the passing houses and apartment buildings. She noticed a blonde girl walking with a tall man along the sidewalk, jumping forward in her seat and grabbing hold of Han's arm.

"Slow down! It's Winter!"

"And Chewie" Han added, instantly recognizing his lanky friend walking on the side of the road.

Easing off the accelerator, Han pulled the Falcon over to the side of the road. Leia jumped from the passenger's seat before the truck had even come to a complete stop. Running towards Winter, she wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Oh thank god!" Leia exclaimed to Winter. "I was so scared you got busted!"

"I was more scared for you! Imagine your dad finding out you were here! He would have gone crazy" Winter said as she returned Leia's embrace.

Han walked around the truck and leaned against the back bumper of the Falcon, Chewie strolling up to join him.

"Who's the broad?" Chewie asked while flipping open his zippo lighter and holding it to the end of a cigarette that was already in his lips as both men watched the two girls reunite.

"I should ask you the same question. A blonde huh? Not normally your type" Han smirked back at his friend.

Linking her arm thru Leia's, Winter and her walked together towards Han and Chewie, patiently waiting for them.

"You can ride along with us" Han offered. "I was taking Leia home anyways".

"Please. That would be so kind of you" Winter replied, giving Leia a look from the corner of her eye, one that was a mix of surprise and delight that Leia had found such a cute looking boy at the party, let alone the fact he was allowing her to drive her home.

The four of them barely fit in the Falcon. Chewie took up most of the front, Winter sitting on his lap, leaving Leia to be squished uncomfortably between the couple and against Han's side. Han had to awkwardly reach across Leia's thigh each time the old Ford needed to be shifted into another gear, trying his best not to brush again her leg inappropriately, as much as his more primal instincts longed to.

Han continued to drive north, following Leia's directions. Old Town was one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city, home to many bankers and politicians, a stark contrast the working class neighborhood of Bridgeport that Han lived in. The neighborhood they were now in contained large stately homes on tree lined streets, a vast difference to small bungalows and two flats Han was used to seeing.

"You can stop here" Leia instructed to him.

"You live here?" Han asked, pointing to a large Victorian style home they had parked in front of out the window.

"No, I live down the block. Pretty sure my father would never let me leave the house again if he saw me stumbling out of this hunk of junk at two in the morning".

"Hey now, this bucket of bolts saved our skins tonight".

Winter had already climbed off of Chewie's lap and from the Falcon. They were both saying their goodbyes to each other on the sidewalk as they shared one last cigarette together, leaving Han and Leia alone inside of the Ford.

"Thanks for the rescue tonight" Leia said as she shifted over a bit into the free space left in Chewie and Winter's absence.

"No problem, sweetheart". Han wanted to lean over and kiss her but something in him told her that she wasn't the type of girl that would appreciate quick advances, no matter how much a gentleman he had been that evening.

"Am I ever going to see you again?" he asked, wondering what the odds were that a girl like her and a guy like him had together.

Leia smiled. She didn't know the answer to his question. She wanted to see him again, but the logistics of it all seemed too unfathomable to her. He looked so out of place sitting there in his rusty Ford and worn newsboy cap, surrounded by homes that cost more than a mechanic would make in a few years' salary. Her father would never approve of him, his hair was too shaggy and he was from a working class neighborhood. She didn't care about such trivial matters as his social status. She liked Han and her heart told her that there was more to him than just his scruffy yet handsome appearance. Reaching for a pen on the dash of the truck, she took his hand and began to press the tip of it against his palm.

"Call me sometime. But only after ten at night. If I don't answer, don't say anything" she disclosed as she continued to write against his skin.

Han looked down at his palm, a scribble of numbers now in black ink across his calloused hand before looking back up at her in a stunned silence. Her phone number was written on him, the best series of numbers he'd ever seen in his life. Her deep brown eyes looked at him in the darkness, hesitating for a moment before she turned to leave.

"Good night, Han. It was good to meet you" Leia said before jumping from the truck to the sidewalk.

"Bye, Leia".

Chewie climbed back in as Winter and Leia began to walk down the sidewalk into the night, Han watching her disappearing figure until she was hardly visible anymore. He hoped that their good night was not a final goodbye as he started the Falcon again, turning the truck around and heading towards home.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you all that have reviewed!_

* * *

 **December 1928**

The first heavy snowfall of winter had blanketed the city in white, glistening along the buildings and along the edges of the sidewalks. Leia made her way down State street to Marshall Fields to begin her Christmas shopping. As she walked into the lobby of the department store, Winter was already waiting for her, her blonde hair tucked under a woolen hat, her heavy coat unbuttoned over her dress in the warmth of the store. The two girls made their way towards the racks of clothing in the women's department. Leia tried her best to focus on shopping, pushing the thought of Han aside as she tried to remember all who she needed to purchase gifts for this year.

"He hasn't tried to call you?" Winter asked as she browsed through a rack of dresses.

"I swore I've heard the phone ring late at night, but father was still up in his office. There's no way I could have answered, I was probably imagining things anyways" Leia replied, a sadness in her voice.

Studying a dress, Winter shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe you should try to find him?"

"I don't know where he lives or even his last name! I sound so silly, pining over a man who I only spent a few hours with!"

"You clearly like him, Leia. I've never seen you so mopey before" Winter pointed out. "I practically had to beg you to come out with me today. You normally love Christmas shopping".

"What about that fellow you were with?" Leia asked, trying to get her friend to change the subject.

"His name was Chewie!" Winter giggled. "He was a good dancer, but he's not my type".

Leia let out a long sigh. Maybe she should just let the thought of Han go. He hadn't called in weeks, probably forgetting all about her by now. She was just another girl he met at a party, why should she think she was anything special to him? She couldn't help to think that she had felt something between them that night though. If he was only looking for an easy one night fling, he had the chance to put a move on her, but he hadn't. Every bit of a gentleman the whole evening, he had looked out for her, whisking her away to safety when the warehouse was raided, protecting her from trouble.

* * *

Han had paid off Jabba, keeping the crime boss off his back for the time being. He'd run a few more small jobs for the Hutts, always making it a point to go inside to look around the speakeasies he was delivering to in hope Leia would somehow be in attendance. Each time, he left more disappointed that she was not there. He wasn't sure why he hadn't tried to call her. He desperately wanted to. Each time he picked up the phone in Fiona's hallway late at night, his nerves got the best of him, setting it back down before he gave himself a chance to dial any of the numbers he had already committed to memory long before the ink had faded from his palm.

Starting the Falcon was a chore that morning, each try ending in the old engine sputtering out before dying completely. After the snowfall, the city fell into a deep freeze, the air biting cold as winter fully took hold.

"Come on old girl, don't fail me now" Han muttered as he turned the key in one last attempt to start the old Ford, the engine stumbling over itself before finally roaring to life.

Picking up Chewie, the two drove down the street, the snow covered yards of homes whizzing past them as Han navigated through the neighborhood.

"Any news from Lando?" Han asked, hoping Chewie had some good news from him. He was running low on money after paying back his debt to Jabba and needed a distraction from his ever consuming thoughts of Leia. Rent was coming due and he was not only low on funds, but on excuses to use on Fiona. He knew she really needed it this time of year, the house was still cold and Christmas was coming.

"Nothing. Mayor Organa's really cracking down. Four truckloads got busted last night. Border is swarming with cops and the river's frozen over. Looks like it's gonna be a slim holiday for us this year" Chewie replied as he lit a cigarette, the smoke curling slowly in the air as he took a long drag.

Han groaned as he gripped the steering wheel, working his frustration out on the leather before pounding his fist against it.

"Goddamn it".

Chewie glanced over Han, his brow furrowed as he took the truck around a corner a bit too quickly. Skidding slightly on the icy pavement, Han quickly corrected the Falcon as Chewie grabbed hold of the dash to keep from sliding out of his seat.

"You know, maybe if you called her, you wouldn't be in such a mood".

"It's not her. It's all of this. The mayor. No work, the fact I'm already freezing my ass off and winter has just started" Han snapped back.

"It's her".

"Will you just shut it, fuzzball?"

"How about we go see a picture show? At least it's warm there" Chewie suggested, hoping that a few hours in a darkened theater would at least distract, if not clear, Han's mind some.

Han shifted in his seat as the newsreels began, the theater growing dark as the film began to roll. He didn't follow the news much, the word he picked up on streets was more valuable to him than any information a broadcast could give him.

A booming announcer's voice began along with the footage. "Has Mayor Organa finally succeeded in cracking down on the flood of illegal liquor? Seems he's got plenty to celebrate this holiday season as crime rates in Chicago fell in the past month, multiple busts by the boys in blue stopping the Hutts right in their tracks! Seen here with his wife and daughter, the Mayor was all smiles as the Organa family attended the annual Christmas tree ceremony in the downtown plaza!"

Footage of a decorated tree came into focus, the Mayor grinning in front of it as he cut a large ribbon, his wife standing beside him. Han shot up in his seat when he noticed Leia, standing behind them in the footage in long winter coat trimmed in fur clapping politely. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. The girl that had been in his thoughts for weeks, the one that made his nervous just at the thought of calling her, the one who so gracefully inked her number onto his hand. "Leia Organa, I'll be damned" he muttered to himself. "Daughter of the mayor who thinks the likes of me and Chewie as some rebellious scum polluting his city".

Han had barely paid attention to the feature, some Buster Keaton comedy that had Chewie laughing like a hyena next to him at every slapstick fall. Han kept thinking of Leia, the footage he had just seen of her playing over and over in his mind. She looked different in the newsreel, gone was the carefree smile she had the night she was with him, replaced with a stoic expression. Her eyes seemed distant, although she was exhibiting polite social graces in public, her mind seemed to be anywhere but there. He wondered what she could had been thinking about or if he was just reading too much into it and she was just bored, having probably attended the same ceremony since she was a young girl.

* * *

Shutting the front door behind him as he returned home, Han started to make his way up the stairs. Still in a less than stellar mood, all he wanted was to do was get into bed and fall asleep. He wished Chewie had never made him go to the pictures with him. If longing for Leia was bad enough, it was now worse knowing that if he had any chance with her, if her father found about them, he would put a stop to it immediately. Men like him didn't date girls like Leia. She was wealthy, educated and had a future ahead of her. Han had nothing to his name other than his rusty Ford, a criminal record and a handful of loose change in his pockets. There was no way a scoundrel like him and a Princess like her could ever feasibly be together.

Holding a basket of laundry, Fiona turned into the hall. She had barely seen Han of late, always missing him by a couple of seconds as his long legs took him directly upstairs to his room, his bedroom door slamming shut behind him until he left the house again without so much as a goodbye to her.

"Han! What's wrong with you lad?" Fiona called out to his disappearing figure at the top of the staircase as she rested the basket against her hip.

Stopping on the stairs, Han turned, the wood creaking under him as he paused, taking a few steps down to come into her view. "Hi Fiona. Nothing. Just had a long day".

"From the looks of ya, you've had a long couple of weeks, always comin' back here and heading right up to bed".

"I'm fine. Just tired".

"You've got a girl on ya mind?" Fiona chuckled as set the laundry basket down and took a long look at Han. He looked every bit of a forlorn man who was hopelessly in love and without a clue what to do about it.

Han couldn't take it anymore. He was miserable without Leia, finally admitting to himself he needed to stop being a coward about the whole situation. Just because she was the Mayor's daughter didn't change how he felt about her. The girl he had met that night in the speakeasy was just Leia, no status, no political connections, just a girl that made him smile when her deep brown eyes met his and his heart skip a beat when she laughed.

"Yeah, Fiona, it's a girl" he admitted.

"Is she a good girl? Not one of those molls you picked up at some juice joint?"

"No. She's…." He trailed off. How would he even begin to describe Leia?

Fiona smiled. She had never seen Han like this before and it reminded her of Mr. Doyle at the beginning of their courtship. Too cocky and stubborn to admit his feelings, yet being torn up inside over it all.

"If she's got you this scuffed up over her, she's clearly something special. Stop being so daft" Fiona chided as she bent down and picked up the laundry basket again. "Go find her before you break her heart".

* * *

Shifting the Falcon into gear, Han rumbled down the street, making his way northward towards Leia's neighborhood. If he couldn't work up the nerve to call her and hadn't run into her in his familiar haunts, maybe he would have some luck in running into her in hers. He half remembered the directions she had given him that night to her street. After a half dozen wrong turns and a couple of curses, he parked his truck outside of the large Victorian home that he had asked was hers the night he had dropped her off. Sitting back in his seat, he wondered to himself what the hell he was actually doing. He didn't even know which house was hers, only that she lived on that particular block. It was growing dark, the gas street lamps flickering on, casting long shadows over the snow covered yards. Fiona was right. He would forever live with regret if he never saw her again. He hopped from the Falcon, shoving his hands deep into his pockets as he began up the street. The frozen snow crunched under his boots as he looked at each of the homes on the block as he passed them. None of them seemed right, although he wasn't exactly sure what he should be picturing for the Mayor's home.

The second to last home on the block was a stately red brick two story. A circular driveway arched thru the snow covered front yard. A wide front porch wrapped around the front of the house. The railing was draped in Christmas greenery, gently swagged and adorned with red bows. The front door was decorated with a large wreath with a Chicago flag hanging in the center of it. The home looked as though it belonged on the front of a holiday card, a picturesque house that Han suddenly had a good feeling about. Cutting thru the side yard, the snow was deep as he trudged through it and looked up towards the second story. A single window was lit up, partly hidden by the bare branches of a large oak tree. _I better have a little Solo luck with this_ he thought to himself.

Picking up a small piece of ice from the ground, he tossed in his gloved hand a few times, eying the single illuminated window as he lined up his shot. Tossing the pebble of ice, it hit the glass with a sharp clink as Han stepped back in the snow waiting to see if there was any movement behind the curtains. Nothing. He reached down to the ground, quickly finding another small chunk of ice and tried again, this time hitting the window pane squarely in the center. A shadow moved across the window, the corner of the curtain shifting as it was pulled back. Han held his breath, hoping to himself he hadn't gotten this wrong, his body already prepared to run like hell in case it wasn't the correct house.

Peering out her bedroom window, Leia noticed Han below standing in the side yard, the snow well past his ankles. She fumbled with the window latch as she opened the window a crack.

"Han! What are you doing here?" Trying to keep her voice low, her parents were awake inside, chatting together over coffee and dessert in the lounge. Han couldn't have chosen a worse time to show up.

Taking a few steps forward in the snow, Han looked up at her.

"Came to see you, Princess".

"Why didn't you call me like I told you to? Instead you're tossing rocks at my window?"

"How about you come down here and we'll talk?"

"I can't right now".

"Oh. Okay". He began to turn in the snow, his shoulders slumping, realizing what an idiot he had been thinking showing up unannounced, wandering through stranger's yards in hopes of finding Leia.

"Han, wait! Give me a minute. I'll meet you at the corner".

Han stopped, turning back around at her voice, completely elated that she somehow was going to make this work. Smiling, he raised his hand, pointing in the direction of the end of the block in which the Falcon was parked. She nodded back, shutting the window and drawing the curtains closed behind her.

Chewie had left a half finished pack of cigarettes on the truck's dash. Han was more than nervous while he waited for her, lighting one and taking a long drag. He watched the darkened street for any sight of her, the minutes seemingly growing longer and longer as he waited.

Flicking the spent butt out the cracked window, Han finally was relieved as Leia pulled open the Falcon's passenger side door, her small body hopping up into the truck.

"How'd you manage to sneak out?" he inquired, impressed that Leia could slip out so easily.

"Told my father Winter wanted to do some last minute shopping".

The two sat in silence for a moment, not exactly sure what to say to one another. Han was slightly in disbelief still that he was even seeing her again. Despite being wrapped in a long coat and a thick scarf, she looked every bit as beautiful as he remembered her from the night he had met her. Her hair was pinned in a circle of braids, a few loose strands falling gracefully around her face, her cheeks slightly pink from the cold air.

"How come you didn't call me?" Leia asked, turning slighting in the seat to confront Han.

"I wanted to. Every time I went near the phone, I wondered how many times I would have to try before you actually picked up".

"So you never even tried?" Her tone was less than friendly now, her eyes hiding the hurt she felt from his admission.

"What would I have said to you, huh? Tell the mayor you're going out a couple of hours with some guy you met down on the south side in a speakeasy?"

"How did you know who my father was?"

"I saw you in a newsreel. How come you didn't tell me?"

"Who my father is doesn't change anything".

Han scoffed to himself. "I don't know, Leia" he said as he pointed at her and then himself. "You think your old man would be okay with this?"

Leia crossed her arms and looked back at Han. "Did you come all the way up here just to throw rocks at my window to get me out of my house to be a jerk to me?"

It couldn't had been further from Han's actual intentions, but he realized he had been curt with her, his arrogant nature getting the best of him for a moment.

"No. I haven't been able to get your from my mind since that night I met you".

Leia wasn't quite sure what to say back to him. He was cocky, a little full of himself and rough around the edges. She had never met anyone like Han before. The men she had dated before him always picked her up properly, greeting her father at the door before taking her out to expensive dinners or to the pictures. They drove new cars and wore European suits and while they were nice to her, she found them boring. She had never lost herself in thought over them the way she had with Han. Never pined over them or missed their touch the way she had missed Han's work worn fingers around hers.

Taking her hand, he began rubbing his fingers against her palm, holding it close to his chest against his coat.

Leia could hardly believe they had gone from disagreeing with one another to suddenly him embracing her hand. Her stomach fluttered as she looked at him. "My hands are dirty" she stammered.

"Dirty?" Han asked, a confused look crossing his face.

Leia sighed. "I lied. I didn't tell Father I was going out. I climbed down the tree outside my window".

Han gave her a lopsided grin. "My hands are dirty too. What are you so afraid of?"

Leia could list off a million reasons why, her mind racing as Han's fingers continued to work against her small hand. She didn't want him to stop, his touch against her sending electricity through her.

"Afraid?" she scoffed.

"You're trembling" Han remarked.

Leia hoped he wouldn't have noticed, attributing her subtle shaking to the cold rather than her nerves. "I'm not trembling" she lied as she shook her head.

Han shifted his own seat, moving closer to her. "You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life".

"I happen to like nice men".

"I'm nice men" Han whispered to her, the tip of his nose brushing against hers.

"No, you're not...You're…" she began to protest before her words disappeared.

Han pressed his lips against hers, half expecting her to pull away from him. Instead, she kissed him back, her eyelashes fluttering shut as pressed her lips against his. The kiss deepened between them, the world around them standing still for a moment as they met together.

The sound of a car rumbling past broke them apart. A gold colored Cadillac sped past them, slowing slightly as it reached the end of the block. Leia sat back in her seat from Han as her fingers left his. She watched the car's brake lights disappear as it turned into the driveway in front of her house.

"I have to go" she exclaimed. In a blink of an eye, her hand was already on the door handle of the truck.

Han reached across the Falcon for her other arm, resting his hand against her coat sleeve. "Why, sweetheart?" he asked, causing Leia to look back over her shoulder at him.

"That car. It's one of my Father's friends. I need to get back home".

Leia turned back, giving him a small chaste kiss against his cheek before opening the door and stepping down onto the slushy pavement.

Han looked at her standing in the cold, her hand resting against the open door frame. "When am I going to see you again?"

Leia glanced down the street and then back at Han. "I don't know. Call me?" she replied impatiently. She knew at any moment, her mother would be knocking at her bedroom door looking for her, a world of trouble coming to her if she was not there to answer.

"I will. I promise" Han assured her, truly meaning every word.

She smiled at him before closing the Falcon's door, the metal creaking in the cold. Jumping over a mound of snow, Leia hurried down the street towards her house, disappearing into the darkness.

Leia had managed to sneak back into her room in the nick of time, pulling off her coat and scarf and tossing them into her closet just as her mother knocked at her bedroom door. Smoothing out her skirt, she took a deep breath as she opened her bedroom door, hoping she did not look questionable in any way.

"Leia, will you be joining us downstairs?"

"Of course, mother".

Chief Peter Oberholtzer was one of Mayor Organa's closest friends and most trusted allies in his fight against organized crime and illegal liquor in the city. He was a thin man with golden blonde hair that was combed neatly away from his face into a stiff style. He was always put together, his suits always pressed and Leia always thought of him as a little too full of himself. He was stuffy, always walking with perfect posture and to her, came off as a bit of a know it all.

Leia entered into the lounge, politely greeting Chief Oberholtzer as a maid served the group tea and Leia took a seat near the fireplace in a comfortable chair. Her father and the police chief were already deep in conversation. Leia took a sip of her tea, the warmth of the liquid welcoming after sitting outside in the cold in Han's unheated truck.

"The Hutts are finding new ways to smuggle liquor in. We thought we had a leg up on them but they're clever".

"What do you mean, Chief?" Bail questioned his friend.

"They've got bootleggers all over the city. They're still running the hooch somehow, even though we've been stopping it by the truck full at the border. We think they might have hidden it in the city somehow before winter set in. We have gotten some information on one of Jabba's most trusted runners, a man by the name of Han Solo".

Leia almost choked on her tea, quickly hiding it with a small fake cough as Bail glanced in her direction from the corner of his eye, wondering what could have caused his normally polite daughter to make such a noise in the company of guests.

Bail sat back in his chair and rested his hand against his temple, his fingers working in small circles. "Why can't these young men just be good upstanding citizens? There's plenty of work in the mills, the slaughterhouses, even opportunities for education if they wanted them".

"They live young and fast. They might have the skills and the smarts, but they want to make quick money, not an honest living" the Chief explained to the Mayor.

"So this Solo fellow? What makes him so important?"

"Not quite sure yet. We did find that he supplied a large amount to speakeasy a few weeks ago that got raided down in Bridgeport. Couple of guys we picked up there that night gave us his name in a bargain to lessen their charges" The Chief took a sip of his own tea as Bail processed the information about Han.

Leia listened intently to the conversation, keeping her eyes focused on her cup of tea to not draw any further attention to herself. If only her father knew that Winter and her had been in attendance that evening at the very speakeasy they were currently talking about. Leia began replaying the events of the evening in her mind, recalling how much sense it now all made that Han had wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, why he had pulled her through the crowded dance floor and had the knowledge of the back stairwell. Han was no mechanic as she had assumed, he was a smuggler, a scoundrel in every sense of the word. Yet, her opinion of him did not change, much as his did not when he found out she was the Mayor's daughter.

* * *

The Organas had long retired to bed, the large house now quiet as snow began to fall outside. Leia sat at her window, looking down into the yard at the tracks that Han had left earlier slowly becoming covered with a fresh layer of white powder. She couldn't help to think about them sitting together in his truck, the way his fingers held hers, the way his wool coat and newsboy cap smelled like a mixture of cigarette smoke and engine grease. The way he had pressed his lips against hers, their kiss and how she so longed for another from him.

The ring of a phone from the hallway jolted Leia from her thoughts. Quickly standing from the windowsill, she pulled her robe tight around her nightgown as she made her way to the phone. Picking up the receiver, she quietly answered, her eyes darting up and down the hallway looking for any indication that the noise had woken her parents. The hall remained dark and silent.

"Hello?" she whispered.

"Leia?" Han's voice replied through the crackly transmission.

"Han!"

"How's my Princess?"

She smiled at his nickname for her. "I'm fine, thank you. You actually called".

"I promised you I would".

Her and Han chatted for a few minutes until Leia saw a light come on from her parents room, the pale yellow glow seeping underneath the door into the dark hallway.

"Han, I have to go" she whispered.

"When can I see you again?" he quickly asked, noting the urgency in her voice.

"Tomorrow evening?" she suggested, remembering that her parents would be attending a holiday party and would be gone well into the night. "Meet me at the corner".

"Goodnight, princess".

Leia set the earpiece back onto the phone before tip toeing back to her bedroom, easing her door shut quietly. As she climbed into her bed, pulling her heavy quilt over her, she couldn't help to smile to herself. She would be seeing Han again, despite the information she had overheard about him tonight, she still was giddy with the idea of her handsome scoundrel and their blossoming secret affair.

* * *

The next evening, Mayor Organa and his wife had left for the holiday party just as Leia had expected they would. She watched her father's car leave the driveway from the front window before rushing upstairs to ready herself to meet Han. She chose to wear a plain dark blue dress over black stockings, nothing flashy, if anything an outfit just as simple as she had chosen to wear to the speakeasy. Finishing the last few plates of her braid, she went to wrap the long strand around her head as she normally would. Pausing, she deciding to let the braid hang down over her shoulder. Wherever they were going, she didn't want to look like Leia Organa the Mayor's daughter. She wanted to look like just Leia. Pulling her coat over her, she fastened the buttons before leaving her house and making her way down the block towards the Falcon, parked in front the large Victorian home in which was quickly becoming her and Han's normal meeting spot.

Hopping into the truck, she smiled at Han. He leaned over to her, kissing her a few times before starting the old Ford.

"You look beautiful, Princess" he remarked.

"Where do you want to go?" She hadn't really thought of what exactly they could do together. Anywhere near her neighborhood, she was bound to run into someone who knew who her and would most definitely question her on who Han was.

"Are you hungry?"

"A little bit, yes" she replied.

Han knew he couldn't afford to take her to any restaurant downtown that Leia was accustomed to dining at. The only money he had at the moment was a few dollars in his coat pocket. He hardly cared he would be spending the last of it on her, wishing he had more to take her somewhere nicer, but also knew it would not be wise to be seen with her in any place she might be recognized.

* * *

Parking the Falcon outside of a small luncheonette on the south side, snow had begun to fall again, big fluffy flakes twirling through the air as they made their way into the building. Sitting at a table in the back corner, a waitress brought them coffee before taking their orders. Han let Leia order first, both out of politeness and so he could mentally calculate the total before ordering himself, having just enough in his pocket to cover the two of them. He needed some work from Jabba desperately, thinking to himself he'd need to contact Lando in the morning to see if any of the heat has died down on the Hutts.

Taking a spoonful of her soup, Leia looked across the table at Han who was taking massive bite of a corned beef sandwich. Clearly lacking any proper table manner training, Leia couldn't help to giggle to herself. Even while practically unhinging his own jaw, she still found him handsome.

"You are a scoundrel aren't you?"

"What do you mean?" He asked as he finished chewing.

Leia just smiled at him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Princess, anything".

"That gold Cadillac that passed us last night. It belongs to the Chief of Police, one of my father's most trusted friends" Leia began, not exactly sure how to approach the subject with Han. She already knew what Han was involved in, but wanted to hear it from him directly, a test of him of sorts. While she already had fallen for him, she needed to know that she could trust him with her heart.

"So?" He asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Are you Han Solo?"

Han froze for a moment, piecing together that whatever Leia was getting at was not good. If she had heard something about him from either of her father or the police, it was most likely something negative and caused a slight panic from him of why his name was even brought up in the first place between the two men. Hoping that telling her the truth would not cause her to feel differently about him, he swallowed, his throat suddenly dry as his voice cracked a bit.

"Yeah, my name is Han Solo".

Leia's dark brown eyes looked at him in silence for a moment, Han unable to read her expression from across the table, wondering what she could possibly thinking now that she knew who he really was.

"When the Chief was at my house last night, my father and him were talking. He said a few of the people they busted at the raid gave up your name in exchange for lesser charges".

"Shit" Han muttered. He hadn't heard that bit of news from anyone he knew yet, it coming as a surprise that any of Hutt's men had ratted him out to try and save themselves. Jabba didn't like squealers, he knew how the portly man usually dealt with anyone who was anything but tight lipped about his operations.

"What exactly do you do, Han?"

"Why do you want to know? You want to rat me out to your dad and his cops?" He was suddenly wary of her, all of this, her and him seemed too good to be true, his mind jumping to that it might be a trap. He could never be too careful, only Chewie, Lando and the Hutts knew exactly what he really did for money.

Reaching across the table, she rested her hand against the top of his and gave him a gentle smile. "No. I just want to know the real you. You know who I am and I want to hear it from you, not just from some conversation".

"I'm a smuggler, Leia" he confessed, his voice near a whisper despite the diner being almost empty. "I'm exactly what your old man thinks is the cause of every one of Chicago's problems".

"I don't agree with all of my father's politics. I like you, Han. What you do doesn't matter to me".

Wrapping his fingers through hers, he felt any of his earlier discomfort and doubts about Leia slipping away. He had never felt the way he felt about anyone before, how she just unconditionally accepted him despite all of the odds stacked against them. He never wanted to let her go. Everything else be damned, he loved her from that very moment on.

* * *

 _To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note:**_ _Sorry for the delay in updating this. I've been consumed with a hellish week at work and playing way too much Lego Star Wars._

 _Thank you all who have reviewed and followed/favorited so far!_

* * *

It was an especially cold afternoon a few days before Christmas. The sun was already sinking low along the horizon as a bitter wind blew in off the lake. Han and Chewie had arranged a job that sounded promising, a welcomed change to the dry spell of no work they had been in. Making their way down the dead end street, the meeting place had almost become routine to them at this point. Jumping the retaining wall near the river, their boots landed on the frozen snow on the other side of the wall. Lando was already waiting for them, dressed in his ridiculous powder blue pea coat as the pair made their way down the embankment towards the river. Lando was flanked by two men that Han did not recognize but figured Lando had new help, brushing off a nervous feeling growing in the pit of his stomach at the sight of them. They both stood unmoved as Han and Chewie approached them. The men were dressed in long black overcoats much too tailored and clean looking to be working along a slushy river bank. Han trusted Lando though, he had never had given him reason not to before.

"This is the last of of what we've got down here" Lando said as he pulled open the hatch of the underground bunker. The hole was now almost devoid of barrels, just a few left in the darkness.

"Yeah, well the last of my money is gone. I need something here" Han grumbled as he lowered himself down into the bunker and kicked his boot tip against the side of an oak barrel. He hardly could believe that a few weeks ago what was a full load had been reduced to this, wondering what the Hutts had planned for the rest of winter to keep their speakeasies in business. Han pushed against a barrel, tipping it to it's side as he began to push it up the plywood board that served as a makeshift ramp. It was heavy, his arms straining as he rolled it from the bunker and onto the snowy riverbank.

Chewie and Han made quick work of loading the Falcon. Han had plans to meet Leia again later that night, hoping that this drop off would be a quick one. He wanted nothing more than to find Fett inside of the speakeasy, get his payment and be on his way. The two men that had been standing near Lando had not offered to help them, instead only watching as him and Chewie loaded the hidden compartment of the truck.

"Be careful, buddy" Lando warned ominously to Han as he climbed into the Falcon, shutting the door behind him as he started the engine.

"Always am" Han said as he nodded back to Lando.

As the truck disappeared down the dark side street, one of the men turned to Lando. Handing Lando a folded stack of crisp sawbucks, Lando tucked the bribe into his pocket.

"Thanks. You've been a great help to us" the man remarked as he pulled a small pad of paper from his coat pocket. He began to jot down the information he had just collected on the two bootleggers.

 _Han Solo. 1915 Ford Model T pick up truck. Illinois plate number AA-23-1138. Illegally modified. Back compartment, hidden smuggling hold_.

Tucking the pad back into his coat, the man nodded to his partner as they made their way to the unmarked police car parked in the shadows. They knew exactly where Han and Chewie were headed and had already seen enough to confirm that they were indeed involved in the illegal liquor trade. Lando had secured his own protection from the law by giving up the information on Han, the payout for his information a bonus. Lando had learned the police were catching up to all of them. It was only a matter of time, the crackdown on the city had only grown stronger as winter wore on. When the police visited Lando at first, he had remained tight lipped, unwilling to give up anything. Lando knew many of the city's officers were crooked, his mind working quickly to work out a deal with them: pay him off for the information about Solo and leave him the hell alone. He already knew the bunker was running empty, the Hutts already moving operations to other ones downriver. Having Han clear the last of it to allowed the officers to see him at work, giving them enough evidence of Han's involvement in bootlegging which allowed Lando to stay out of trouble, a thin veil of protection for himself.

* * *

Han turned into the dark alley, cutting the Falcon's headlights as they slowly made their way to the doorway of the warehouse Lando had given them instructions to.

"I have a bad feeling about this" Han commented to Chewie as he backed the Falcon up to the door before turning the engine off.

"We've done this a hundred times before with no problems" Chewie remarked as he opened the passenger side door to begin unloading the Falcon. The familiar red haired man from the other warehouse greeted them, putting Han slightly at ease to see a familiar face receiving the cargo.

Making his way up the stairs and into the speakeasy, Han scanned the room looking for Fett. He wanted his money and to be done with the job. The uneasy feeling that had hovered around him all night hadn't gone away as he made his way through the crowded room. Before he could locate Fett, he felt a sharp tap on his shoulder, causing him to stop and turn around.

The two men from earlier at the river bank stood before him.

"Han Solo. You are under arrest for the distribution of illegal liquor" one of the men stated as he flashed a police badge in his palm towards Han.

Han froze, his mind racing, immediately thinking of Lando and his earlier suspicions of how something wasn't quite right. _He set me up that no good double crosser_ Han thought to himself as anger grew inside of him. He had trusted Lando, yet Lando clearly only was thinking of himself. Han refused to go down because of a supposed friend's betrayal. He had spent too much time and effort staying one step ahead of the law to be arrested so easily.

Han turned away from the men and broke into a sprint, pushing his way through the crowded speakeasy. As he dashed towards the doorway, he glanced over his shoulder, the two men in pursuit behind him, dodging and weaving through the crowd after him.

"Stop!" The undercover officer yelled towards him. "You're under arrest!"

Han made no attempt to slow down. His long legs carried him quickly through the room, his mind racing as he tried to find his friend's face in the crowd. _Where in the hells is Chewie?_

Finally spotting his tall friend near the door, Han called out to him. "Chewie! Get to the Falcon!"

Chewie immediately noticed Han's panicked expression and the two men in pursuit of him. Something had gone terribly wrong, while he didn't know what, he did know well enough that it was time to run. Bounding after Han, Chewie quickly caught up to him as they fled for their freedom.

Han and Chewie continued to run, making their way down the alley towards the waiting Falcon and practically diving into the truck upon reaching it. Fumbling with the keys, Han slammed the correct one into the ignition, the engine whining for a second before roaring to life. The two officers were fast approaching as Han's foot slammed onto the gas pedal, causing the Falcon's tires to squeal against the frozen pavement. Accelerating down the alley, they skidded around the corner before disappearing into the darkness.

The two officers stopped in the middle of the alley, both out of breath from the chase as they watched the truck disappear.

"Goddamn it!" The one officer growled. "Slippery bastards. We were so close".

"We'll get him. We've got enough proof on Solo and have a warrant out for his arrest now. It won't be long until he's spending the rest of the year downstate" the second man commented.

* * *

The Mayor and his wife again were out for the evening, leaving Leia home alone. She should have been going along with her family to the holiday function but decided to seize the opportunity to meet Han in their absence instead. She faked a stomach ache, resting her forehead near the radiator and licking her palms to add a realistic effect to her fake illness. Her mother had tucked her into bed, believing that she was really burning with fever and clammy to the touch. As soon as the front door clicked shut behind them, Leia had already jumped from her bed, feeling more than perfectly fine as she slipped from her nightgown into a simple green sweater and beige skirt. Letting down her tightly pinned up braids, she glanced at herself in the mirror as she brushed her fingers through her hair. She smiled to herself as she pulled a few strands away from her face, pinning them loosely on the crown of her head. She liked how she looked this way better, a more relaxed and carefree version of herself.

Leia walked to the end of the block and noticed that the Falcon was not waiting for her in the usual spot and there was no sign of Han anywhere. She pulled the belt of her coat tighter as looked up and down the street, the evening air damp and cold around her. Han had never failed to show up before, never a minute late, always waiting patiently for her in his beloved truck.

Pacing back and forth on the sidewalk in attempts to keep warm, Leia shivered despite being wrapped in her heavy coat. She had been waiting for Han for almost a half an hour, the street still empty with no sign of him. She could barely feel the tips of her fingers or toes anymore as she decided that he wasn't coming after all. Disappointed and confused, she began to cross the street, kicking a small ball of snow out of frustration as she made her way back home.

Pulling her coat off as she entered her bedroom, she tossed it onto her bed with a huff. Han had never just not shown up. She was angry, confused and a bit scared that something might had happened to him. He hadn't told her specifics of what he was doing before they had arranged to meet that evening, other than he had "some things to attend to" but he had promised her he would be there on time. Her cheeks burned hot and her eyes welling with tears as all of the possible reasons why he didn't show up raced through her mind. She tried to think straight through it all, but she couldn't help to think that he had just not wanted to see her anymore or that he had gotten bored. She sat down at the edge of her bed as a tear rolled down her cheek. Looking towards the window, she wished she would hear the clink of ice hitting the glass and Han would somehow be outside standing in the snow waiting for her. As she wiped away the tear, the room was silent around her and her stomach began to knot. What if he had gotten arrested? She knew that Han was involved in less than legal activities, never questioning exactly what sorts of business the smuggler had to attend to that day. The way her father and the police chief had been talking about him, they were not far from catching up to him. Horrible images of Han sitting alone in a cold jail cell flooded her mind causing her to pull her knees up onto to her bed and wrap her arms around them. Trying to push to image from her mind, only more terrible thoughts came to her. Every possible scenario flashed through her head, each becoming more ludicrous by the second. She let go of her knees, allowing her body to fall backwards into the bedspread. She rolled to her side, trying to hold back any more tears from staining her face. She lay in silence for what seemed like forever, trying unsuccessfully to clear her mind.

The distant ringing of a phone came from the hallway, causing her to pick her head up. Dazed for a second, she realized that it might be Han trying to contact her. Springing from her bed, she rushed from her room and darted down the hall to the small table where the phone sat.

Grabbing hold of it, she breathlessly answered, relief washing over her as she heard Han's familiar voice on the other end of the line.

"I'm sorry, Princess. Chewie and I ran into some unwelcomed company".

Leia wanted to yell at him, tell him how she had stood waiting for him down the block half frozen only to return home alone with no sight of him. How worried she had been about him, how she never thought he would just disappear on her but something told her that whatever had happened, it was beyond his control. She sighed, pushing away the multitude of thoughts that had consumed her of what he could have possibly gotten himself into.

"It's okay. As long as you are okay".

Han assured her that he was, even if he was still reeling from Lando's betrayal. He wasn't sure who he could trust anymore. Leia was the only person other than Chewie that he felt actually gave a damn about him. They easily fell into conversation with each other. Han did not elaborate on what exactly had happened and Leia did not press him for any more information.

Leia had been so engrossed in their conversation she had failed to hear her parents returning home earlier than she expected them to. Her father called up the staircase to her as they made their way into the house.

"Leia?" Bail's voice rang out, echoing down the front hall as he began up the long set of stairs.

"I have to go" Leia whispered, cutting Han off mid sentence. "I love you". She had hardly heard his reply back to her as she quickly placed the phone back down onto the table. Trying to look as casual as possible, she stepped away from the table, her father already coming into view.

Bail stopped at the top of the stairs, looking at Leia with a puzzled expression, having heard the last snippet of her conversation.

"I thought you were sick" her father sternly stated as he glanced at his daughter who looked more than perfectly healthy. Her expression was calm, but Bail was hardly a fool and could see right through it "Who are you talking to so late at night?"

"Winter" Leia lied, trying to hold herself together.

"You say I love you to Winter now?"

Leia knew she had been caught, opening her mouth to say something but quickly closing it, her mind coming up blank of any excuse she could give her father of what she had been doing on the phone.

Bail studied Leia, her rigid body trying it's hardest to relax and appear normal as she stood like a frozen deer in the headlights in the hallway. He wasn't exactly sure what his daughter was up to, but he had his suspicions and he did not like it one bit.

"Don't think I once wasn't young like you, Leia. Whoever this boy that you are talking to, you can forget about him. Any man who calls my daughter late at night and has her sneaking around behind her father's back is no gentleman. Go to bed".

Leia gave her father a glare before turning on her heel and making her way to her room, making sure to slam the door behind her for added conveyance of her anger. She was rarely left with a loss of words, which only enraged her more. Fights with her father were few and far between, but when they did have words with each other, they were always more a battle of wits between them than a shouting match. While her father had no idea that his most wanted criminal was the man who she had been talking to, she was more upset that she had been caught. If Han had to worry that the police were on his trail, Leia now had to worry that her father was on hers.

* * *

 **Christmas Eve 1928**

Winter and her parents had come over to the Organa home that afternoon, a tradition the families had always shared on Christmas Eve together before attending Chief Oberholtzer's annual holiday dinner. Dismissing themselves from the lounge after opening gifts, Winter and Leia had locked themselves away in Leia's bedroom. Winter sat on the end of Leia's bed in her holiday dress, a deep sapphire gown that made her blonde hair seem even paler as it fell around her shoulders against the dark silk.

Leia sat across from her friend, crossing her legs beneath her and pulled the fabric of her skirt over her knees before resting her elbows on them. Her hands cradled her chin as she looked at Winter, her deep brown eyes filled with sadness.

She told Winter about Han not showing up and how Bail had caught her on the phone with him. Feeling miserable since that night, Leia voiced her frustrations to her friend, hoping that somehow Winter could offer her some advice of what to do, even if it was only to make her feel a bit better about the situation.

"I'm never going to see him again. Father disconnected the phone in the hall. The only other one in the house in his office and he has been keeping the door locked" Leia explained. "Han's been trying. I can hear it ring but I can't answer".

"Don't give up hope. Han found you before without calling you. He'll figure out a way".

Scoffing to herself, Leia shifted the weight of her chin from one palm to another. "That'd be rich. Father finding the city's most wanted man throwing rocks at my window".

"Leia, you're being so pessimistic! He loves you, right?"

"I think so".

"He's risked himself how many times to call you or see you? He loves you and you love him. Stop doubting everything" Winter reminded her firmly. She was not about to let her friend give up hope.

Winter was right. Leia knew Han loved her and she loved him every bit as much back. Even when he tried to hide it behind his cocky exterior, she couldn't help to think of all the times he looked at her, his hazel eyes staring into hers and she saw nothing but love and adoration for her in them.

"I just feel like everything is impossible right now" Leia admitted. It really felt as though everything in the past few days had wanted to tear them apart, the immersementable odds already stacked against them to begin with.

"Never tell a man like Han the odds" Winter laughed. "I can tell you two are meant to be together".

Chief Oberholtzer and his wife spared no expense when it came to their Christmas Eve party. Their home, while already immaculate to begin with, had been decorated in every corner for the holiday. A butler took Leia's coat as her and Winter, along with their parents, entered into the home. Making their way past a large elaborately decorated tree in the lobby of the home, they all made their way into a grand ballroom where the party was already in full swing. Large centerpieces overflowing with pink poinsettias and glittered paper snowflakes adorned the tables around room, sparking in the candlelight that surrounded them. Evergreen garlands had been draped around the tall windows that dotted the walls of the room. Another pine tree was decorated with ornate glass ornaments of every color and had been placed in the corner of the room, towering above the gathering.

Chief Oberholtzer made his way over to Bail, shaking his hand warmly as he greeted the Mayor and his family.

"You remember my son, Reginald?" the Chief asked Leia as a lanky blond man that closely resembled his father stepped beside him dressed in a polished gray suit.

"Of course I do" Leia politely stated, using every ounce of social training she had received over the years to respond as Reginald took her hand into his, kissing the back of it.

Reginald Oberholtzer was an attorney in New York. Leia remembered him from her childhood, always an awkward boy who would pull at her braids to get her attention when his father was not around. One day on a family outing to the beach, she had enough of his teasing and she kicked sand in his face and dared him to pull at her hair again. This caused Reginald to run crying to his father, complaining that she had been mean to him. Bail and the chief had scolded him for treating a lady in such a way. He had always been polite to her since then, if anything, walking on eggshells around her partly out of fear that she would put him in his place again if he so much stepped a toe out of line around her.

Bail seemed to had forgotten about the sand incident from long ago as he shook the young man's hand. Greeting him warmly, Bail exchanged pleasantries with Reginald.

Clapping Reginald on the shoulder, Bail glanced at Leia and remarked "I should let you two catch up with each other" before excusing himself to join the Chief again.

Leia stood across from Reginald, the pair now alone with each other,much to Leia's dismay.

"Leia, my, it has been quite some time hasn't it?" Reginald commented as his eyes wandered over her. Leia could practically feel his stare now burning into her evening gown.

Clearly he had grown out of his awkward stage, not about to tug at her braids now that he was a fully grown man ogling her as if she was a prize to be won.

Leia crossed her arms and glared back at him. "What a delight to see you this evening" she retorted sarcastically. Her father and the police chief were too engrossed in their own conversation now away from them to notice if she was being impolite towards Reginald.

"I hear that you are thinking about law school after you finish undergraduate" he said, completely missing Leia's tone in her snarky comment towards him.

"Maybe. I'm not quite sure yet".

"You know, I could help you study. I aced all my classes while at John Marshall" Reginald bragged.

"I'm sure you could" she replied coolly.

"We would be great study partners" he added as he winked at her.

Leia could hardly take another second in his presence. If there was sand on the floor at the moment, she probably would have kicked in his face just as she had when she was young girl on the beach.

"It was a pleasure to see you, Reginald, but I think I'm going to freshen up". Leia couldn't get away from him quick enough, using the first excuse she could think of to remove herself from having to talk with him for another second.

"I'll be here all night if you want to talk some more" Reginald chided to her retreating feature.

Stepping out of the house into the cold night, Leia felt as though she could barely breathe. She was fuming at the fact that her father had basically pushed Reginald into conversation with her, a stark reminder that he was the type of man her father did approve of, if not expected, for her to be with. The winter air stung her cheeks, but she didn't care about the cold. She hardly could bear the thought of returning inside to the party quite yet. Needing a moment to herself, away from everyone to try and clear her mind, she made her way down the steps of the home and onto the sidewalk. Drawing patterns in the snow with the tip of her shoe, she hardly was paying attention to anything around her, lost in her own thoughts when a familiar voice broke through the bitter air as the sound of boots crunched against the frozen snow on the sidewalk.

"Hi, Princess".

Looking up, Leia could hardly believe who was standing before her, dressed in his woolen coat and newsboy cap. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets as he looked towards her with a lopsided grin on his face. "Han! What are you doing here?"

"I've been trying to call you. You never answer anymore".

She stammered for a second in disbelief when the reality of Han standing in front of the Chief of police's home overrode her joy of seeing him again as a panic spread through her as she grabbed onto his arm.

"You can't been seen here!" she exclaimed as she began down the block gripping onto his coat and leading him towards a row of businesses at the end of the block, long closed for the night.

"Whoa, sweetheart" Han protested, surprised at her sudden turn, his hands pulling free from his pockets. While she was petite, she was much stronger than she looked. Her fingers were tightly wrapped around the fabric of his coat sleeve as she led them into a doorway of a darkened shop. The doorway provided them a slightly private alcove, far enough away from the chief's home that they could speak openly to one another without the risk of someone seeing them together.

"You showed up at the chief of police's house when every cop in the city wants you!" She let go of his coat, staring at him in disbelief. "How'd you even know I'd be here tonight?"

"Chewie read it in the Sun-Times and told me about it. Apparently you do this every year".

"Of course" she said as she rolled her eyes.

Chief Oberholtzer's Christmas Eve party was legendary among the city's elite. One of chief's many friends in attendance was the newspaper's president. He always made sure that his paper published a small piece about the party, highlighting the guests of honor and the accomplishments they had done for the city over the past year. Leia figured that her father had been one of those featured, his efforts in reducing crime and putting men like Han behind bars supported by the majority of Chicago residents wishing for their city to become safer.

"You're braver than I thought" she smiled at him.

Han kissed her forehead as he ran hand hands up and down the sides of her arms. He could tell she was freezing for she only wore a long emerald colored evening gown and no coat. He pulled her close to him. Engulfed in his embrace, Leia let all of the emotions of the past few days slip away as she buried her face into his coat, taking in the familiar smell of engine grease in the wool that she had so dearly missed.

"I missed you" she confessed, picking her head up to look up at him.

"I missed you too. Do you want to go to the Falcon? I have an extra sweater you could wear".

"Is it far?" Leia was worried that it was only a matter of time before someone at the holiday party noticed her absence.

Han shook his head as he raised his hand from her and pointed down the block. "No, around the corner, on Division Street".

Han had given her the extra sweater he had in his truck. She wrapped herself in it, her small body lost in the oversized cardigan. He noticed she was still shivering and took off his own jacket, laying it over her like a blanket. He wrapped his arm around her, allowing for her to rest her head against his chest in the crook of his shoulder.

"Warmer, Princess?"

"Much. Thank you".

Leia told him about Reginald and how she absolutely hated how her father would only approve of men who had status or political connections rather than the actual quality of their character. Han stayed silent, keeping his own opinions on the issue to himself and listened to her as she continued on.

"If my father could only realize that social status wasn't everything. He forgets sometimes".

"Forgets?" he questioned, not exactly sure what she meant.

Turning in his arm, she looked up at him. "I'm adopted" she confessed to him. Other than Winter, she had never told anyone her secret.

Han was stunned at her admission. He figured she was born into the privileged life she had, never imagining that she was brought into it.

"Do you know your real parents?"

"No. My father and mother never told me about them. I used to ask when I was younger, but they never gave me any answers. I used to daydream about having a long lost brother or sister out there, who grew up totally opposite of me".

Han chuckled. "Like they live on a farm or something?"

"Something like that. I don't know". She smiled gently, hardly wanting to sour the rare moment her and Han had found together.

Pulling herself up from Han's embrace she leaned towards him and kissed him gently.

"What was that for?"

"Nothing. I just love you" she replied.

"I love you too, sweetheart".

She shifted slightly, losing herself in his hazel eyes as a certain sadness crossed hers. "What are we going to do?"

"About what?"

"About us. We can't keep sneaking around forever. The police are after you and my father is onto me. It's only a matter of time before we are caught". Leia sighed, the overwhelming feeling of the situation between them weighing on her again. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Han.

Running his fingers through the loose strands of her hair that tumbled past her shoulders, he kissed her again. He wasn't quite sure of what to do about anything either, but was not going to let her be consumed with doubts about them. "You worry too much my Princess".

"I know I do" she replied. "I'm also worried that I've been gone far too long".

Han had almost all but forgotten that she had slipped away from a holiday party, too lost in each other to keep track of time.

Pulling the sweater from around her, the chill of the air enveloped Leia, causing goosebumps to raise on her pale arms. She folded the cardigan and began to pass it back to Han.

"Keep it" he said as he waved his hand at it.

"When am I going to see you again?" she asked, stealing a few last kisses from him before wrapping the sweater back around her shoulders in an attempt to ward off some of the cold.

"New Year's Eve?" Han suggested. "There's a party at 32nd and Morgan".

Leia committed the cross streets to her memory as she finally let herself go from Han's embrace. Reaching for the door of the Falcon, she glanced back at her rugged scoundrel. "Why New Year's?"

"Smuggler's code. I have to kiss a Princess at midnight for good luck" he said as he gave her a grin.

"Okay, hotshot" she smiled back at him.

Making her way down the block and back into the Chief's home, Leia almost immediately bumped into Winter in the home's large entrance way, who looked more than relieved to see her.

"Leia! Thank god. Where have you been? Your father has been looking for you and I told him I would go find you".

Noticing the sweater that was all but five sizes too big wrapped around her shoulders and obviously masculine, Winter tugged Leia aside towards a hallway that was flanked with a long rack of coats. The rows of neatly hung woolen and fur jackets concealed them partly from any errant party goers lingering about in the lobby of the home.

"Han found you? Here?" Winter whispered, her voice a mixture of surprise and excitement as she tugged at the knitted fabric hanging from her friend's shoulders.

"Not here exactly. Outside".

"Told you he'd find a way. Go hide that before your parents see you wrapped up in Han's sweater and we are both in a world of trouble".

"There's a party on New Year's" Leia confided in her friend quietly as she found her coat on the rack, pushing the sweater into the sleeve in her best attempt to hide it away before turning back towards Winter.

Winter grasped Leia's shoulders, smiling at her friend. "Then we'll find a way there".

* * *

 _To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4

**New Year's Eve, 1928.**

Alone in her bedroom, Leia wrapped Han's sweater closer around herself as she sat near the window. Over the past week, she had taken solace in the article of clothing. It still smelled like him, the faint hint of tobacco and engine grease forever trapped in the knitted wool. She watched as the snow fell, a steady flurry of white coming down in heavy flakes. Looking down to the street below, the gas lamps that lined the sidewalk cast a yellow glow across the pavement as it quickly disappeared under a fresh layer of powdery snow.

A sharp knock on the door broke her from her thoughts.

"Leia?" her father's voice questioned from the other side of the door.

Leia swung her legs from the windowsill as she pulled off Han's sweater, shoving it under her bed to hide it before making her way to the door and opening it.

"Supposed to get pretty out bad tonight. Your mother and I decided it would be best to stay home" Bail said to her as he stood in the doorway, already dressed in a robe and pajama pants.

Leia had no intention of staying at home, even if her parents had decided against attending any festivities for the evening. It was New Year's Eve and she had every intention of meeting Han, snowstorm or not.

"I was going to walk over to Winter's for the night" Leia lied, putting on her best pout in efforts to sway Bail if need be. She knew if her father questioned anything, Winter would easily cover for her knowing full well where she really was doing and who she was with that evening.

Bail studied Leia for a minute, looking for any hint of untruthfulness in her words. Since the night he had caught her on the phone, she had not given any additional reasons to be skeptical of her. While he had heard the phone ring in his locked office, he found no trace of Leia attempting to reach it. Figuring that she had took his words to heart and broke it off with whoever she was speaking to, Bail nodded in agreement. Winter only lived a few blocks away from them and he trusted his daughter would be safe there.

"Better get going then" Bail suggested to her. Leia gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, a thank you of sorts, before he turned to leave, shutting the door behind him.

Leia felt a pang of guilt as she turned from her door and made her way to her closet. She had somewhat regained her father's trust and here she was about to sneak away behind his back again. She began sifting through her clothing, pushing the hangers along the long metal closet rod as she tried to figure out what to wear for the evening. Trying to justify her lies to her father, she thought to herself that she was only doing what she needed to do in order to see Han. There was no plausible way she could ever tell her father the truth about him, their forbidden affair only complicated by not only the fact that Han would be seen unsuitable for her in Bail's opinion but also the fact that he was a wanted man. Leia sighed as she pulled a navy sweater from it's hanger and placed the article of clothing behind her on her bed. Turning back to her closet, she began searching for a skirt to complete her outfit.

The snowfall was increasing in intensity as Leia walked towards the corner, thick flakes swirling in the biting wind. Leia tucked her chin down into her scarf, trying to stave off the cold. There was hardly any traffic on the normally busy main thoroughfare of her neighborhood, despite it being a holiday evening. The wintry weather had seemed to keep most people home. Glancing up and down Division Street, Leia noticed a taxi cab coming her direction. Quickly extending her arm out, she hailed the cab, the car pulling to a stop at the curb next to her. Sliding into the backseat, she pulled her gloves from her hands, shaking snowflakes from them as she addressed the cabbie.

"32nd and Morgan, please" she instructed to the cab driver.

The driver turned in his seat, stretching his arm across the back of it as he looked back at Leia.

"I don't go that far south, honey". His voice was like gravel as he spoke to her, wondering what a pretty girl like her was doing ordering him to drop her off at those particular cross streets. The area was largely industrial, a stark contrast to the wealthy neighborhood they were currently in.

Leia snapped open her pocketbook in her lap. She folded a ten dollar bill in half before withdrawing it in between her fingers and pointing it at him.

"Will this get me there?" she firmly asked the man.

The driver looked at her for a moment before snapping the bill note from her fingers and turning back in his seat, shifting the cab and pulling away from the curb.

"Whatever you want" he grumbled under his breath, tucking the money into his coat pocket as he accelerated southbound into the snowy night.

By the time Leia had made it to the warehouse, the snow was coming down hard and fast, blurring the distance in the alleyway as she made her way down it. She felt every bit as nervous as the last time she had gone to a speakeasy, even not more so this time because she did not have Winter by her side leading the way. As she stepped in front of the large steel door, she remembered how Winter had knocked. Two hard raps against the door, followed by one short one. She wasn't sure if the manner of her knocking made a difference at all, but figured she would play it safe just in case. Stepping back, she waited for a moment before the door opened a crack.

"Password?" A man's voice asked from the shadows behind the door.

"Kenobi" she whispered, wondering to herself who made up these ridiculous entrance words.

The door swung open, a sliver of light casting out into the darkness of the alley. Leia walked past the man holding the door open for her and down a long hallway. She wasn't quite sure what direction to head in, but the man offered her no instructions to help her along. Following the dim corridor along to the back of the building, she made her down a flight of stairs to a lower level of the building. Pushing another door open, she was welcomed to a subterranean room packed full of party goers. It was much more crowded than the last speakeasy, the room already sticky with humidity from the amount of people in the space. She unbuttoned her coat and allowed the garment to drop from her shoulders. Draping her coat over her arm, she wove her way through the crowd, looking for Han. Her short stature made it difficult to see over the crowd, stopping every few paces to rise up on her tiptoes to try and catch a glimpse of Han.

Finally spotting him in a far corner, she squeezed herself between a group of people, making her way towards him. He was leaning against the brick wall, one of his legs bent behind him supporting his weight as he casually sipped from a tumbler of amber liquid.

Approaching him, he pushed his boot against the wall and stood upright at her presence.

"Hi, Princess" he greeted to her warmly, bending slightly to kiss her cheek. "No Winter tonight?" he remarked, looking past Leia into the crowd, wondering where her friend was.

"No. On my own tonight. Chewie with you?" she asked back to him.

"Nah. Fuzzball doesn't like coming out on holidays".

Han chuckled before taking a quick sip at his whiskey. "Then it looks like it's just us tonight, sweetheart". He couldn't help but to smile a bit, a lopsided grin starting to form at the corner of his mouth.

Stepping forward, he wrapped his arm around her, careful to not spill his drink on her. He had already done that once in his lifetime. Although if it wasn't for his clumsiness in the past, he would had never met her otherwise.

* * *

The hours past, Han and Leia dancing together song after song to the ragtime band that was playing. She learned that if Han got a bit of whiskey in him, he was quite the dancer, teaching her how to Charleston. She stumbled a few times at first, the dance was unlike anything she had ever attempted before but soon found a rhythm, letting any self consciousness float away as she swayed her hips and swung her arms. No one knew who she was here, she was just another girl out for the night. As the song ended, she was winded as Han took her hand leading her from the dance floor. Resting against the wall, Han kissed her forehead.

"Another drink?" he offered.

"Please" she replied.

Han returned with two glasses in his hand, whiskey for himself and a cloudy white colored drink for her. She took the glass from his hand, glancing at it with a puzzled look on her face as she swirled the concoction with the straw. Ice mingled in the liquid with a few lime slices floating at the top and it smelled sweet. She had never seen such a drink in her life.

Looking up from the glass at Han, she asked "What is this?"

"Gin Rickey" he replied.

Leia wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but was willing to try it. She had heard that many bartenders in speakeasies got creative with mixing drinks, often using sweet or citrust flavors to mask the harsh taste of the poorly made or unaged illegal liquor. Taking a sip, she was pleasantly surprised. It was delicious, the mixture of lime and soda hiding any bite the gin in it had. Taking another sip, she smiled at Han.

"Can I try yours?" she asked, pointing to the dark amber liquor in the glass in his hand.

"This?" Cocking an eyebrow at her, he tilted his glass towards her, surprised that she had never tasted whiskey before. Allowing the glass to pass from his fingers to hers, he watched as she took a small hesitant sip. Her face almost instantly scrunched up as her eyes squeezed shut as the liquid passed across her lips.

"Oh god! That is awful!" Leia exclaimed as her eyes opened again as she finished swallowing the whiskey. It burned her throat as she let out a small cough as she wiped her lips with the back of her hand. How Han could drink such a liquor without flinching was beyond her. Shaking her head, she passed back Han his glass of firewater and took a sip of her own drink, hoping the sweetness would quell any remaining taste of it from her mouth.

"You get used the taste" he commented "Whiskey used to be really good, back when it could be properly made".

Leia had never questioned Han's age, but his comment made her think to herself that he was older than she had originally thought if he was drinking before prohibition took effect. They had never directly asked each other their ages, but her best guess by his admission was at least ten years her senior.

The night had been passing by so quickly that Leia hardly released that it was fast approaching midnight as the room became silent for a split second before a collective countdown began throughout the crowd around them. Ten...nine...eight. Everyone's voices grew louder as more people joined in, the promise of a new year quickly approaching. Seven...six...five. Leia felt Han's arm wrap around her shoulders as his voice joined in to the countdown above her. An energy built in the room as the numbers grew smaller and the crowds voices grew louder. Four...three...two...one...Happy New Year! Pops of confetti crackers surrounded them and music began playing again as Han turned Leia in his arm to face him. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against hers, practically taking her breath away before she could begin to kiss him back. The excitement and commotion of the crowded speakeasy ringing in the new year seemed to fade for a moment as she lost herself in Han's kiss.

Breaking away from her, he looked at her. "Told you I had to kiss a Princess at midnight for good luck".

"You can kiss me like that any time you wanted" she chided back to him playfully.

* * *

It was the wee hours of the morning as Han and Leia stepped from the warehouse into the alleyway. The snow had piled up, deep drifts covering the pavement and sloped up the side of the brick building. The intensity of the snowfall hadn't slowed any either, sheets of white still coming down through the bitter winter air. The amount of snow that had fallen while they were inside took both of them by surprise. The speakeasy had no windows as it was in the basement of the building, hidden away from the outside.

"There's no way I'm getting home in all of this" Leia remarked, the snow creeping up past her ankles, engulfing her feet.

"Why don't you just stay by me tonight? I don't live far from here" Han suggested, trying his best not to come off as presumptuous. While he enjoyed the thought of having Leia spending the night with him, he also was not about to allow her to try and get home by herself in the middle of a snowstorm, let alone in the dead of night.

She pondered his offer for a moment. Her father believed she was at Winter's for the night, a rare opportunity of freedom, no deadline for the time being to return home.

"Okay" she agreed. Han reached for her waist, sweeping her off her feet to pick her up from the snow.

"Han! What are you doing?" she exclaimed as his arms wrapped around her. She giggled as he took a step, her legs dangling over the crook of his elbow as she held onto his shoulders.

"Not going to let my princess trudge through the snow".

* * *

Stepping into the foyer of the two flat, Leia looked around the modest home as she shook snow from her hair and stamped her boots against the rug to avoid tracking it into the home. Reaching to unfasten her coat, she noticed the interior of the home was not much warmer than outside and decided to leave it buttoned for the time being. She had always wondered where Han called home, not quite sure what to expect. It was dark, but she could see a small front room and a hall that lead to a kitchen and dining room. Dying embers from a fire barely glowed in the fireplace and the was house silent.

"C'mon. We'll go upstairs" Han whispered to her.

Leia began to follow Han up the long flight of stairs, the wood creaking loudly beneath her feet.

"Han? Is that ya?" a woman's voice questioned from below them, thick with an Irish accent.

Leia froze in the darkness, unaware that anyone else was home or that he even trying to sneak her into his house. Her mind raced at who the woman could be.

Han stopped, his fingers gripping the banister as he sighed.

"Yeah, Fiona. Just me" Han replied, hoping Fiona would leave him alone without noticing Leia hidden in the shadows behind him.

"You think ya so slick. Who's with you?"

Han let go of the banister, knowing that they had been caught and Fiona would never let him live it down if he didn't properly introduce Leia to her. Leia was the first girl he had ever brought to the house. He had always preferred to keep his outside life mostly private, even Chewie had only met Fiona a handful of times.

Leia stood in silence, her brown eyes wide with confusion on what was going on, not sure if she should be concerned or not that they had woken the woman up. Han didn't seem overly bothered as he took her hand and lead her back downstairs to the hallway.

Fiona stood with her arms crossed in the hall, her dark curly hair pinned into a disheveled bun at the top of her head. She had a long sweater pulled over her nightgown. It was apparent that she had been asleep, their footsteps up the rickety stairs had woken her. Han had become an expert at coming home late, memorizing exactly where to step to cause the least amount of noise on the stairs. Leia did not have that knowledge, only following Han in the dark, not knowing the correct pattern of where to step to avoid causing the floorboards to creak. Fiona looked at Leia, instantly knowing that she was the girl who had Han so forlorn weeks ago, her posture softening that Han had not messed things up with her.

"Snow's bad out. Fiona, this is Leia" Han said as he introduced the two women to each other.

"Pleasure to me ya, darlin'" Fiona said as softly smiled.

"Likewise" Leia replied politely, offering Fiona her hand for a handshake. She was still unclear of who exactly this woman was. At risk of being impolite, she kept the question she wished to ask more than anything to the woman. _Are you Han's mother?_ Han never mentioned his family, let alone his heritage to her, doubting if Solo could even possibly be an Irish last name. She could barely distinguish any familiar features between the two, even in the darkness, she couldn't clearly determine if they were related or not.

"If ya want tea or anything, Han knows where the kettle is".

"Thank you" Leia responded, grateful for Fiona's hospitality.

Fiona gave Han a look, a silent approval of Leia with a hint of _don't mess this up_ in her eyes before she turned back down the hall, leaving Han and Leia alone.

Han took Leia's hand, leading her back up the stairs once again. He opened the door to his small bedroom and allowed Leia to step into the room first. It was a plain room, four white plaster walls that offered little insight into Han's life. No pictures or decorations of any sort adored the walls. A bed with a metal headboard was tucked into the corner, covered in a heavy patchwork quilt. A small oak table with a oil lantern sat between the bed and the room's single window. In the opposite corner of the room, a wicker chair sat with a few of Han's shirts and coats draped across the back of it. Leia looked around as Han lit the lantern on the table, adjusting the flame as it began to cast a dull yellow glow around the room. It was every bit as cold as the downstairs had been. Leia crossed her arms around her and shivered slightly.

"Sorry it's so cold, sweetheart" Han remarked, noticing Leia standing in the middle of the room grasping her elbows. He noticed for the first time that she looked completely out of her element. Here was the mayor's daughter who lived in a home that was larger than every home on his block combined standing in the middle of his unheated rented room shivering in a working class neighborhood miles away from the life she was familiar with. A wave of nervousness came over him. He wasn't quite sure what to do to make her feel more comfortable in the current situation.

"Who is Fiona?" Leia asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"She owns the house. I just rent a room from her" Han explained to her.

"Oh. I thought at first she was your mother".

Han chuckled as he shook his head. "No. She worries like she was my mother sometimes though".

Leia still felt a bit awkward as she finally removed her coat, Han taking it from her and resting it against the back of the chair along with his own. She sat down on the edge of the bed, the mattress softer than expected under her as she watched Han move about his room.

"If you get under the covers, it'll be warmer" he commented as he tossed his scarf onto the chair.

Under any other circumstances and with any other man, she would have scoffed at the suggestion, thinking they would only trying to pull a fast one on her. Any such feeling didn't occur to her with Han. She liked the thought of actually being in his room, even if it was only because a snowstorm kept her from getting home. She pulled the quilt that had been neatly tucked under the pillows against the headboard and lay down. _So this is where Han sleeps every night_ she thought to herself as she pulled the heavy blanket over herself, her head sinking comfortably into the down pillow.

Han leaned over the edge of the bed and reached for a spare blanket that was draped across the foot of the bed, prepared to sleep on the floor to allow Leia to be comfortable.

"What are you doing?" Leia asked, propping herself up on her elbow against the pillow.

"I'll sleep down here" he replied, pointing to the rug on the hardwood floor.

"I'm not going to kick you out of your own bed" she remarked as she patted the quilt next to her. "Come here".

If Leia was okay with it, he was more than willing to share a bed with her. He was only trying to be polite and a gentleman, but her invitation was a welcomed one. He much preferred the idea of sleeping next to her over by himself on the cold floor.

Easing back the corner of the quilt that Leia was already snuggled under, Han lay down in his bed next to her. Unfolding the extra blanket he had grabbed, he covered her with it before settling back next to her. Stretching out his arm across the pillows, Leia picked up her head to rest it into the nook of his shoulder. His arm wrapped around her, holding her close against him. Her body felt so tiny against his, yet she fit perfectly into his embrace at his side. He leaned to kiss against the top of her hair. He was still getting over the surprise that she was actually next to him in his bed and this wasn't all some kind of dream.

Leia was finally feeling a bit warmer, her body enveloped in Han's strong embrace helping to ward off the cold. She could get used to this, tucked under the blankets and in the arms of the man she loved. She hardly cared that all she had to sleep in was the skirt and sweater she had worn out for the evening. Hardly worrying about anything else in the moment, she nuzzled her chin against Han's side before kissing his chest playfully, eliciting a chuckle from him.

"What, Princess?"

"Nothing. I'm just really happy right now". She had never felt so contented before, never so glad that she was in the exact moment she was currently in.

"Freezing in bed with a scoundrel?" he laughed, eliciting a smile from her, her own laughter joining his.

"I'm plenty warm now".

Turning onto his side, he rested his hand against her hip. Picking her chin up from his chest, her eyes met his as the space between them diminished. Her lips met his in a kiss, her soft lips against his as her eyelashes fluttered closed taking in the growing passion between them. Her fingers traced against his chest, wandering aimlessly against the fabric of his shirt.

"I love you" she whispered towards him in between a kiss.

"I love you too".

* * *

The filtered light of the overcast winter morning crept through the curtains, flooding Han's small room with a dreary gray glow. Leia's skirt and sweater lay in a crumpled pile on the floor along with Han's discarded shirt and pants. Han was still asleep, his soft breathing the only sound in the room. Leia lay in his arms, her pale skin bare beneath the blankets against him. Despite the lack of clothing between them, she was more than warm enough. She looked at Han, studying him for a moment as he slept. He looked tranquil, as if he didn't have a care in the world: no police after him, no warrant out for his arrest. She had never seen him look so relaxed, even in the simplest of moments they had spent together, he always seemed to constantly be on watch-his eyes always darting over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching or following him. It was a habit he had obtained from years of smuggling, never letting his guard down even if he supposedly in a safe place. His hair stuck out against the pillow in every direction, a messy mixture of bedhead and their activities from the night previous.

Stirring in his sleep, Han shifted slightly as he woke.

"Good morning, Princess" he sleepily said to her as he pulled her close to him.

Leia kissed against his cheek, his jawline now scruffy with stubble that tickled against her smooth skin. "Good morning".

"Not a bad way to wake up" he grinned as he ran his hand down her bare curve of her side beneath the blankets, revealing in how soft her skin was against his calloused fingertips.

"I can't complain" she said as she traced her fingers across his broad chest before kissing him again.

Leia couldn't deny that she wasn't content, wishing that it could all be so simple as just staying right here in his arms forever. The reality of it all was suddenly came crashing down around her. She couldn't stay here forever. While she could tell by the subdued light streaming into the room that it was still early in the morning, she would have to go home eventually, returning to life as she knew it.

Han could something was troubling her, her deep brown eyes devoid of the sparkle they had held a moment earlier.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't want to go home. I can't stay here forever, but I can't help to be a little sad that I have to go" she admitted to him.

"So stay".

"Han, I can't. You already have enough people after you. You don't need my father after you too".

"Don't remind me, sweetheart".

They fell silent for a minute before Han's voice broke through.

"Let's go out to California. I can get a job with the railroad...or construction...I don't know much more than the basics, but I'll learn" he suggested, half joking but with an underlying tone of seriousness behind his words.

Leia pondered his haphazardly thrown together plan for a second before beginning to laugh. She turned in his arms, propping herself up next to him slightly.

"Han, have you lost your mind? That is the most terrible, horrible, incredibly foolish idea".

"No more winter. I hear it's warm there all year 'round" he countered, almost convincing himself that his plan was foolproof and simple enough as them getting up, hopping into the Falcon and driving westward.

She gave him a smirk and a glance from the corner of her eyes.

"And you don't think anyone would come looking for us?"

"Not me. Probably you, though" he replied, reaching to brush a few loose strands of hair away from her face. Tucking them behind her ear, he let his fingers trace against her cheek.

"I wish we could, Han".

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Not that it's super important, but I actually did the math for Han and Leia's ages for this story (basing them off of ANH when they met in canon). Han would have been born in 1899 in order to be 29 years old in 1928. Prohibition began in 1920, when Han would have been 21, so feasibly he could have had a few years of legal drinking in his lifetime, especially since no legal drinking age was actually established until the repeal of prohibition in 1933. Leia would have been born in 1909 to be 19 years old in 1928, therefore being too young to ever have alcohol before it was made illegal (she would have been 11 the year prohibition went into effect). Also, gin rickeys are delicious and one of my personal favorite drinks. If you've never had one, I suggest trying one. They're a classic for a reason...and helped write a good chunk of this story :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_Thank you to all who have left nice reviews! I'm glad that you are all enjoying this story so far and hopefully continue to do so._

* * *

 **January, 1929**

Han made his way from his room down the wooden staircase. The smell of fried bacon and breakfast wafted through the two flat as he walked down the hallway and leaned against the door frame to the kitchen. Han watched Fiona as she stirred a pot on the stove, her back turned to him. She was humming an Irish tune to herself as she worked, paying little attention to anything else around her, lost in her own world.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph, ya scared me" Fiona hollered out, jumping slightly as she turned from the stove, unaware that Han had come downstairs, finally noticing his lanky stature in the doorway.

"Sorry. I'm just headin' out".

"Ya not going anywhere without some food in ya" she stated as she wiped her hands against the threadbare apron with a faded floral print that covered her dress.

"Fiona, I really don't need anything" Han protested. "I'm not even that hungry".

Turning back to the stove, Fiona shook her head as she turned the flame to the burner off and moved a large pot across the stove. Fiona reached for a shelf above the stove and grabbed a plate. She began scoop a large mound of colcannon from the pot onto the chipped porcelain plate before picking up a fork from the counter and speared a few stripes of crispy bacon from a cast iron skillet that rested on a back burner. Shaking the strips of fatty meat onto the plate she turned and looked towards Han with a piercing glare, silently telling him that he better get some food in him before venturing out for the day.

Han sighed as he stepped forward from the doorway and reached for the plate. He knew better than try to refuse it, Fiona would only put up a fight until he gave in. He'd learned to appreciate Fiona's cooking, meals that were always a mixture of traditional dishes from her home country and Midwestern recipes Han remembered from his own childhood. Reluctantly, Han sat down at the small oak table in the kitchen as Fiona prepared herself a plate and pulled out the chair across from him.

Han took a bite of bacon, hoping to eat quickly and be on his way. It was still hot and the grease tingled against his lips. He sometimes forgot how good a home cooked meal could taste. He needed money though and while it was a last resort, he had convinced Chewie to come along with him to the gambling hall that morning. He was already running behind but figured Chewie would just have to wait on him a little bit longer as he tore off another large bite of the crispy bacon.

"How's Leia?" Fiona asked, studying Han from across the table as she unfolded a napkin across her lap.

"She's fine. She's back at her classes again" Han nonchalantly replied. He was in no mood to be mothered at the moment. While he was glad Fiona seemed to like Leia, he could handle himself without her prying into his relationship.

"And she still hanging out with the likes of ya?" Fiona lightheartedly joked towards him as she leaned back in her seat. "Ya got quite the woman, ya know".

Han chewed in silence as Fiona reached for the window sill near the table where a stack of newspapers sat, pulling the morning paper from the top of pile and folding it in half before passing it to Han. She raised an eyebrow at him as he looked down at the print. He instantly recognized the girl in the picture under the headline of the article. There was Leia, standing among a group of other college aged students. Most in the group were smiling broadly for the camera, but Leia looked as though her thoughts were elsewhere. The corners of her mouth were turned slightly, as if she was only cracking a half smile out of politeness but her eyes seemed vacate of any real joy.

 _Leia Organa, daughter of Chicago mayor, recently appointed vice-president of the University of Chicago's Woman's Self Government Association._

Han didn't bother to read any of the smaller print of the article under the headline, not caring what exactly her position entailed or any further details about her participation. He didn't need a reminder of who Leia was by having some article about her shoved in his face over breakfast.

"So she's part of some club at school" Han remarked as he set the paper down on the tabletop and took another bite of his meal.

Fiona's eyes narrowed a bit at Han's casual reply. "I don't know exactly what ya do outside of this house and it's none of my business, but ya better be careful".

"I trust Leia. She's nothing like her father" Han replied, sensing at what Fiona was getting at with her comment as he poked his fork into the mound of lumpy colcannon on his plate.

"Ya met the mayor then? Ya still have ya skin on ya so I'm guessing you haven't".

Han swallowed his food and set his fork back down and looked across the table at Fiona.

"Leia would never rat me out to her father" Han snapped. The audacity of Fiona's suggestion floored him. He knew full well the risks he was taking being involved with her, but he had never doubted her trust for even a second.

"Han, why don't you make a proper man of yourself? Ya can't keep running around with the law and those cronies on your tail forever".

"Not that simple".

"It's plenty simple. You're a smart lad. Ya got yourself a good girl for once, an educated one at that too".

"You have any faith me ever, Fiona?" Han questioned as he nudged the plate in front of him away. He had lost his appetite and if the conversation was to continue, he was sure his temper would be quick to follow. He pushed his hands against the edge of the table, scooting his chair back before standing. Fiona sat in silence as she watched Han leave the kitchen with so much as a good bye. Reaching back for the newspaper as she heard the front door shut behind him, she looked down at Leia's picture, studying the young girl.

"Ya best be careful too _cailín álainn"_ she whispered as she placed the paper back onto the windowsill and began to clear the dishes Han left behind on the table.

* * *

Han picked up Chewie in the Falcon and the pair wove their way through the neighborhood side streets, heading east into the shining sun. It was a bright day, a stark comparison to the overcast gray that had seemed to grip the city for the past few weeks. It was deceptive though, while the shining sun in the pure blue sky appeared to be a beautiful day, it was bitingly cold out, the temperature hovering just above zero with a wind that pierced and made the air so cold it was difficult to breath.

Reaching for the window crank, Chewie lowered the glass a crack as he lit a cigarette. The smoke curled through the frozen air as Han pulled the Falcon into an open parking space along the curb of a long apartment building that sat at the end of the block. It looked like any other building in the city, it's unassuming yellow brick three story exterior was dotted with windows of residences. An iron fence bordered the snow covered front lawn of the building, the rows of metal only interrupted in the center by a brick gate way that led to a walkway that cut through the lawn leading to the doorways of the apartments. Tucked away in the back basement down a small flight of stairs off the alleyway was a Hutt-run gambling room. A quick way to earn to a few bucks, card games took place at certain times during the week that only ones with the right connections could possibly know were occurring. The crime lord owned the whole building, using the rental units as a business front to keep the gambling hall off the radar of the police.

Han and Chewie made their way through the side gate off the alley that ran alongside the outside of the building and curved its way around the back. Stepping down the concrete stairs, they now stood in front of a heavy metal door. Rapping his knuckles against it, Han could feel the cold from the door emanating through his thin gloves as he waited for a response. The door creaked open in the cold as a man let them in.

The basement was not much warmer than outside. The concrete walls offered little insulation from the winter chill. The room had a few round tables set up around it with oil lanterns burning bright in the centers of them and mismatched chairs placed around them. No games had begun yet as a few groups of men mingled around the room chatting with each other. Smoke hung heavy in the air. Prohibition had not only made liquor illegal, but gambling too, forcing it into the hidden alcoves in the bowels of the city. Dotted throughout the underground, the Hutts had found a profitable operation of running gambling halls such as this one. Han knew well enough which gambling halls the Hutts preferred to rig, generally the ones that were in more well to do areas had unfair odds while ones in lesser neighborhoods were run cleaner.

Han's game of choice was faro. He eyed a table, noticing a few men sitting down around it waiting for any more players to join in before the game could begin. It was a easy game and had the best chance of a payout over any other games offered in the makeshift hall. Han also had Solo luck on his side, a natural knack to learning games of chance quickly and having the odds in his favor at them. In addition, he had a personally developed system of cheating if needed. He had found it was easiest to slip at this game, the dealer often focusing elsewhere, giving him a chance to sway the bet if need be, thus reversing the play in his favor. He didn't like to cheat, but sometimes desperate times called for desperate measures.

Han sat down at the table, Chewie hanging back behind him. Chewie wasn't much for games of chance, much preferring to silently scan the room while Han played, always watching for any signs of trouble. He knew that Han didn't always play a clean game, putting himself at the risk of someone catching onto his tricks. Even Chewie had a hard time telling when Han might be pulling a trick, even after watching him play hundreds of card games before. It was not uncommon for fights or even gunfire to erupt in gambling halls if a cheater was caught attempting to sway the game.

Han withdrew a twenty dollar bill from his coat pocket and tossed it on the table towards a tall mustachioed man with dark hair standing across from him. The dealer took the bill, tucking it away beneath the table and handed Han a handful of copper betting tokens in exchange for his money. Han shook them in his palm, ready to hopefully walk away from the table with more than he had come through the door with, which was hardly anything. He was taking a risk betting the last of his money but the Hutts were under too much watch from the police to give him many smuggling jobs and after Lando's betrayal, he wasn't sure who he could trust anymore. This was his last resort for the time being, a gamble he was hoping would be in his favor.

The dealer scanned the table, ensuring all the men had cashed in for their betting tokens and the game could begin. Nodding, he reached for the card deck that was encased in a small metal holder. He swiped off the first card from the holder with his fingertips and discarded it. It was tradition in the game to burn off the card at the top of the deck, leaving fifty one cards in play. Han studied the cards as the dealer drew two more, setting them on adjacent sides of the deck. One pile of cards was the dealers, the other the betters- where the cards landed determined if the house or the player won the round. Han's fingers wrapped around the coins in his hand as he studied the value of the cards on the table. The sound of clicking of tokens chattered around him as a few of the men at the table placed down bets around him before the dealer drew two more cards. Han knew that it was best not to bet right away, to sit back a few rounds and see how the values played out. The men around him groaned collectively as an ace of hearts was pulled by the dealer and placed in the far right pile of cards. The house had won the round again, the men all losing their bets.

After a few more draws, Han was beginning to feel the timing was right and placed a small stack of five tokens on the table on the ten of spades, officially buying himself into the game. The dealer drew two cards again, placing them in their respective piles.

"First winner of the day" the dealer remarked as he swept the tokens off the table and passed them to Han. He had just doubled his five tokens, taking his winnings from the dealer and adding them to the tokens he held in his palm. Running his fingers over them, he was beginning to feel a little more confident, taking eight of them and placing them on the next draw.

As the game went on, Solo luck was definitely on Han's side that day. His coat pocket was now heavy with copper tokens, his palm no longer able to contain his winnings from the game and he did not have to resort to cheating for any of it. Chewie seemed to calm down some, casually leaning his elbow against the back of Han's chair as he watched the game play out before him.

The dealer tapped the metal card box.

"Calling the turn, gentleman. Last round to bet, payout is four times for this last one".

Han knew the best chance to win big, or lose it all, in the game was at this point. There was only three cards of the deck left in the dealing box and the only time in the game when such a bet could occur and the payout was so high. The risk was also there. The player needed to predict the exact dealing order of the last three remaining cards otherwise they would walk away with nothing.

Han reached into his coat pocket, his fingertips running through the copper tokens. He hadn't been keeping exact count of his winnings, but his best guess was that he had a bit more than a hundred tokens in his possession now. He debated with himself silently how much he was willing to risk at this point. He could easily only place a few tokens in, taking the safe route in case he was to lose. He could still potentially walk away in a good position. He already knew what he needed to do with his winnings, a mental list of things he needed money for and the reasoning behind going to the gambling hall in the first place. Rent for the week was already overdue to Fiona. He felt a little guilty for up and leaving her this morning after she had been kind enough to feed him. She was just looking out for him by showing him the newspaper with Leia in it, unaware he already knew exactly who she was. He figured he'd buy some coal for the furnace, both as a token of forgiveness to Fiona and the fact he was tired being frozen inside of his room for so long. January was usually the coldest month of a Chicago winter and they were still months away from any spring warmth.

Against his better intuitions, he pulled out fifty tokens from his pocket. Running them through his fingers, he thought of Leia for a moment. He couldn't imagine her sitting alongside him in a dingy gambling hall watching him play cards, let alone approving of how he earned his money. Yet, she accepted him, flaws and all. He had half expected to her to get up and leave the luncheonette weeks ago when he uttered the words _I'm a smuggler_ to her, confirming truth to everything she had overheard from her father, but she had stayed by his side.

"Your bet, sir" the dealer asked, interrupting Han's thoughts.

"Six of hearts, nine of diamonds and queen of hearts" Han replied, hoping the order he picked was correct.

Only Han and one other man at the table had decided to bet on the final round, both watching intently as the dealer pulled the final cards from the dealer's box. Six of hearts. Han's boot tapped against the concrete floor in anticipation as the dealer reached towards the next card. Nine of diamonds. Grabbing onto the edge of the table, Han realized he had won, the corner of his mouth turning in a cocky grin as the last card was drawn. The queen of hearts. To him, there were few feelings better than beating the odds, a certain gratification that came from doing something that most considered too risky or impossible. The other man who had placed a bet slammed his fist against the tabletop, his friends next to him clapping him on the shoulder in condolence as he muttered a few choice swears under his breath and shook his head in disbelief that he had just lost a substantial amount of money.

"Think you should walk away while you are ahead" Chewie suggested as he leaned forward over Han's shoulder as he collected his winnings. He had seen his friend get arrogant at gambling before. After a few good rounds, Han's overconfidence somehow would take over and he would continue to gamble, losing a little more each time after he swore he would win it all back until he was forced to walk away from the table with nothing left other than a sour mood.

"I'm coming, fuzzball. I've got other plans than sitting in here all day anyways".

* * *

Han dropped Chewie off at his apartment and started his way back through the city in the Falcon. He rarely ventured to Hyde Park, the neighborhood that surrounded the University of Chicago. He never had any business to conduct in the area. A man like him, while not exactly unwelcome, was not the type that typically frequented the area. The neighborhood was mostly populated by faculty and students from the university. In the summer months, wealthy families flocked to the upscale resort hotels that dotted the lakefront.

Parking the Falcon, Han jumped from his rickety truck and made his way down the street. As he came nearer to the college campus, he suddenly felt out of his element, as if he somehow had been transported to another planet. Han had little formal education in his life, most of his reading, writing and math skills he had acquired throughout life on the streets rather than in a classroom. He couldn't think of a time before now that he had actually been on a campus, what limited knowledge he had about the college lifestyle came from picture shows Chewie had dragged him to and books he had read. Passing through the main gate, large ornate gothic styled buildings bordered the snowy quad. Bare limbed oak trees flanked the sidewalk, the twisted bark and branches of the trees roping out overhead against the winter sky. A few groups of passing students brushed past him, well dressed men in tailored coats and women in woolen skirts carrying textbooks: laughing and chatting among themselves as they hurried past to their next lecture. Han shoved his hands into his pockets of his threadbare coat and continued to walk, trying to ignore the people passing by around him. They all had a future ahead of them, an opportunity at education that Han was never given. He wasn't jealous of them, but rather just out of his element. He could hardly picture himself at a young age having such a carefree or a positive outlook on life in the way that they did.

"Han!" Leia's voice rang out in the cold air.

Han turned at the sound of his name and instantly noticed Leia standing on the stoop of a large gray stoned building. She skipped the single step down from the entrance way and made her way towards him. He couldn't help to smile at the sight of her. He had missed her since New Year's. Her long navy overcoat fluttered behind her as she jumped slightly and wrapped her arms around his neck. Catching him by surprise, he grasped her waist as she placed a kiss against his cheek.

"Hey, Princess".

Lowering her to the ground, he kissed the top of her tightly pinned hair before she took a step back from him.

"Did you miss me?" she asked, still smiling.

"Of course I did. Whaddya say we get some lunch? My treat" Han offered to her.

Leia adjusted the caramel colored leather book bag on her shoulder before taking his hand. Her gloved fingers wrapped through his as she smiled at him.

"Follow me. I know a place".

Han wasn't quite sure where they were going but he followed Leia's lead as they turned a corner away from the college onto a main street that was lined with shops and restaurants.

* * *

Entering into a small cafe, it was warm and the smell of baking bread and freshly brewed coffee filled the small space. It was mostly empty, save for a few students dotted among the tables with books open with pads of paper next to them, jotting down the occasional note as they studied. Leia let Han's hand go as she pulled her gloves from her hands, folding them and stuffing them into her jacket pocket.

"I come here a lot to study" she commented, breaking the silence between them. Han hadn't said much in the few blocks walk between campus and the cafe, letting her do most of the talking as she filled him in about how her new semester of classes were going. Thinking to herself, this was really the first time that they had been together in what would be considered her world. She hoped that Han didn't feel uncomfortable, his unusual silence unnerving her slightly, causing her to wonder what was on his mind that kept him so quiet.

Choosing a table along the far wall, Leia pulled her coat from around herself and draped it on the back of her chair. Han sat and unbuttoned his own coat, but made little effort in getting comfortable, remaining silent as a waitress handed them menus and asked for their order.

"You okay?" Leia asked after the waitress had left. She reached across the table and laid her hand across his. He felt tense under her touch.

"Yeah, fine" he muttered.

"You don't seem fine".

"This is all just a little...much, Leia. All these people around here know who you are".

Leia smiled gently as she squeezed his hand. "Don't worry. If anyone recognizes me, they aren't going to care who I'm with or what I'm doing".

The waitress appeared again at the table with their order a few minutes later. Setting a small porcelain plate with a vanilla scone atop of it and a mug of steaming earl gray tea in front of Leia and a cup of coffee in front of Han.

"Anything else you need?" the waitress asked.

"No, thank you" Leia replied politely before the waitress turned and left them alone again.

* * *

The door chime to the cafe rang and a dark skinned man in a light blue coat entered the business. Unbuttoning the collar of his coat as he stepped into the cafe, Lando noticed Han sitting at a table with an unfamiliar girl. Surprised to see Han in the neighborhood, he took a few long strides towards the table.

"Han, old buddy, how are you?" Lando quipped as he approached the table.

Han narrowed his eyes at Lando, gritting his teeth as he set his coffee mug down, unhappy with the unwelcomed company.

"Sorry, am I interrupting anything?" Lando asked as his eyes fell on Leia.

"Not really" Leia replied, not sure who the man was or how he knew Han as she broke off a corner of her scone against the plate and popped it into her mouth. She chewed it slowly as she studied the man and glanced at Han, looking for some kind of answer of what was going on. Han looked less than thrilled at the man's presence near them.

"And who might you be? You are absolutely beautiful" Lando said as he flashed a toothy grin towards Leia.

Han shook his head at Lando's audacity, running his hand across his mouth as he rolled his eyes as Lando continued to try and work his charms on Leia.

Swallowing her bite of scone, her throat was dry as she managed to speak. "Um, thank you" Leia replied.

"I'm Lando Calrissian, a friend of Han's".

"Yeah, some friend" Han scoffed under his breath as his fingers drummed against the side of his coffee cup.

Leia looked between the two men, still not quite sure what was going on. Han's body was tense and he was near the edge of his seat as if he was ready to spring from it at any second.

"How do you two know each other, may I ask?" Leia asked rather diplomatically in hopes to break the tension between the two.

"We're business partners" Lando smoothly replied.

Lando's words had hardly dissipated before Han leap from his seat, the wooden chair scraping against the floor as he pushed it back. Turning to face Lando, Han grabbed the lapels of Lando's coat firmly, the powder blue fabric twisting through his fingers.

"Like hell we are" he growled as he shook Lando in his grasp, Han's face now only inches from Lando's. The other people in the cafe looked up from their books and papers to see what was going on, the commotion breaking through the otherwise silent room. "You fixed me up real good" Han snarled, giving Lando another firm shake.

"Look, buddy, I was just trying to protect myself. I've got my own problems".

"Yeah" Han snapped. "I bet you do".

The owner of the cafe noticed the escalating situation between the two men and rounded the corner of the counter, shaking his hand at them before pointing towards the door.

"Take it outside!" the man yelled towards them. "I don't need scoundrels like you in here disturbing the peace!".

Han let his grasp on Lando go and took a step back. "You're a real hero" he muttered under his breath as he looked at Lando with a look of disgust.

Turning towards Leia, her brown eyes were wide with shock at what had just occurred, not quite sure if she should say anything or not. She had never witnessed Han lose his temper in such a way, let alone lay his hands on someone.

Reaching for her hand, Leia grabbed her book bag from the floor and her coat from the back of the chair as she rose from her seat and followed Han out of the cafe in disbelief. Han looked back over his shoulder at Lando, shooting him one last piercing glare as they left the cafe.

* * *

Stopping a few doors down from the cafe, Leia pulled her hand from Han's. He leaned back against a brick wall, his leg bent backwards and the bottom of his boot rested casually against it, supporting his weight. Han fished in the inside of his coat for a pack of cigarettes he had lifted off of Chewie earlier, pulling one out and pressing it to his lips. Leia stood on the sidewalk in front of him as he flipped his lighter open and lit the cigarette, taking a long drag as the end of the tobacco glowed a bright orange. The smoke clouded between them for a second as Leia crossed her arms and glared at Han, who by the looks of it was completely unaffected by what had just happened inside the cafe.

"You certainly have a way with people. What the hell was that all about?" Leia demanded as she fumbled with her belongings in her arms.

"Don't worry about it".

"No. I am worried about it. What is going on between you and that man?"

Han took another long drag, tilting his head back and exhaling a long trail of smoke above them. "Lando set me and Chewie up a couple of weeks ago. It's fine now".

Leia set her book bag down and pulled her coat over her arms and began to fasten the buttons down the front. While she hadn't noticed the cold at first, it now bit at her skin through her sweater and she realized exactly how frigid it was out. She tried to focus more on the closures of her coat, not quite sure if she could look at Han at the moment. She was fuming, partly from embarrassment of being kicked out from the cafe she frequented and from the fact that she might not know everything about Han like she thought she had. Maybe she was in over her head with him, maybe they were too different. Reaching the last button, she slid it through the buttonhole and took a deep breath before looking back up at him.

"Why don't you tell me these things?" she asked quietly, searching his expression for any sort of explanation from him.

"Because you don't need to worry about me".

Leia reached down to her feet and lifted her book bag from the sidewalk, swinging the strap of it over her shoulder and crossed her arms. The way Han was dismissing everything as if it was a regular occurrence to him made an anger she had never felt towards him begin to churn in her stomach. She tapped her foot against the frozen ground before taking a long breath, the frigid air burning in her chest.

"Do you think I don't care about you? That I don't wonder what you are up to in the days I can't see or talk to you? If you've been locked up or let alone even alive to see again? You never share anything with me, it's like you are leading two separate lives".

"I'm not lying to you about anything".

"Withholding might be the word you are looking for" Leia snapped.

They stood in silence for a moment, a stalemate between them. Han flicked the spend cigarette towards the street. Leia stood rigid in front of him, her coat buttoned tight around her and her braids tautly pinned away from her face in a crown around her head. She looked put together, older and more strict than Han was used to seeing her, but it hardly took away from her beauty. His mind wandered back to the times she lay against the pillows next to him in his bed, her chestnut hair falling loose around her face and how relaxed and content she looked in those moments. They both were walking a fine line between two lives, Leia just as much as him, whether she cared to admit it or not.

"Come away with me, Princess" he suggested.

"What?" she exclaimed, hardly believing that Han's solution to all of this was just to run from the problems at hand.

"Let's go. California. Like we talked about. I've got almost five hundred dollars, we can just head west and not worry about all this".

"We talked about? That was you rambling on about it like a madman".

"We can't keep doing this here".

"No, we can't" Leia admitted.

She wasn't sure where the conversation between them was going, but she knew that sneaking around Chicago wasn't working for either of them. She didn't want to lose Han, but there was no longer anywhere safe for them if they stayed here. It was only time before either of them got caught up and the relationship would be ended by either Leia's father or Han's involvements with the Hutts.

She thought about her parents, her school and her friends. None of them besides Winter knew anything about Han. Winter could not protect her from whatever decision she would make though, her friend did not know of any of Han's plan. If she left with Han, she would be leaving everything she had ever known behind in complete secrecy. She internally wrestled with her own thoughts while standing in the middle of a city sidewalk in the dead of winter. Everything about her life had always been planned and mapped out. She never did things without scheduling them properly or without permission before Han had come into her life. She thought about what was expected of her if she stayed in Chicago. Her parents would expect her to continue to get good grades while she finished her undergraduate program and then head off to law school if she had not taken up with a man such as Reginald before then. None of that was a life she wanted for herself. While the idea of running off with Han still seemed completely impulsive and borderline insane to her, it would also give her a freedom that she had never known before. She wasn't exactly sure what she should do, her heart telling her one thing and her brain another. Uncrossing her arms, she pulled at the leather strap of her book bag for a moment before looking up at Han.

"Where did you get all that money?" she asked firmly, testing his truthfulness to her.

"Game of faro earlier" Han answered truthfully. He wasn't about to lie to her. If she wanted him to be straightforward about his life, he was more than willing to come clean to her in anything she wished to know.

"You gambled for it?"

"Yeah".

"God, Han. Can you do anything in your life legitimately?" she said through an exasperated sigh.

Han couldn't help to crack a smile at her comment.

"I've been legitimate with you" he offered, not sure what her response would be. He couldn't read her, her brown eyes fixed on him with a glimmer of residual frustration in them, yet she smiled at him gently.

Taking a step towards him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face into his jacket. Han stood up straight, the bottom of his boot leaving the wall behind him as he wrapped his arms around Leia and held her tight.

"I love you" she said as she looked up at him, her chin pressing into the scratchy wool of his coat as her eyes met his.

"I know" he replied before leaning slightly down to kiss her. Hesitating slightly, Han looked at Leia as he broke from the kiss. "Are we really going to do this?" he stammered.

Without any hesitation, any doubts and fears she had earlier evaporating into the winter air as she looked back into his hazel eyes, Leia nodded her head.

"Yes, absolutely".

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So, this story has sort of taken a turn away from the direction I originally meant it to go in, but I feel like my original plan would have left it a little boring and I've always kind of wanted to write Leia running away with Han but never really figured out a way to do it justice in the SW universe so well...it's happening now in a historical AU._

 _And a side note (Have you noticed I like to ramble about things in author's notes yet? It's those gin rickeys, I tell you) thanks to writing Han playing cards so much throughout various stories, I've now learned how to play two card games because of him: Sabacc and Faro. Completely useless knowledge in real life, but Faro has a very interesting history behind it. At one point in history, the bets made on the game were worth more than any other gambling game combined. After World War Two, the game lost popularity, only being played in a few casinos in Las Vegas and Reno and by the early 1980's had all but disappeared from them._

 _Also if you were wondering what Fiona said about Leia when she is putting the newspaper away, she calls her a pretty girl in Gaelic (cailín álainn)._


	6. Chapter 6

The Falcon stopped down the block from Leia's house in its usual spot outside of the Victorian home. Han turned the engine off and sat back in his seat as Leia reached for the door on her side of the cab. Looking back over her shoulder, she noticed Han was making no effort to move from the truck.

"Aren't you coming with me?" she asked as her fingers rested against the door handle.

"I'll wait here" he gruffly replied to her. Han felt uneasy at the idea of entering the mayor's home, not quite sure why Leia wanted him to accompany her. He figured she could grab what she needed and they could be on their way.

"No ones home. It's okay if you come with, we won't be there long" she reassured to him.

Adjusting his hat, Han thought to himself for a second. _If she insists._

After walking up the block and up the curving front driveway of the house, the pair stood on the porch as Leia withdrew her key ring from the side pocket of her book bag. Grasping to a single gold key, Leia slid it into the lock and the front door clicked open.

Han stepped behind her into the entryway of the Mayor's home and looked around. The downstairs of the home was dim, the only light coming from filtered sunlight peeking through the drawn curtains over the windows. Han wasn't exactly sure what he imagined the inside of Leia's home to look like, never figuring he'd ever wind up inside of it. Everything was too perfect, too clean and too proper, to the point it almost made it seem unwelcoming. He noticed a front room with uncomfortable looking couches arranged in a small seating area. The room looked as though no one had used it in years, only maintained for the sense of show. He couldn't picture Leia growing up here. He felt as though it like a museum, if anything somehow got moved so much a few inches out of place, it would be noticed immediately.

The house was silent as he followed her up the staircase and down the hallway. There was a long carpet runner that ran down the center of the wooden floor that squished under his boots as he walked and silenced their footsteps. He thought how Fiona's floors would creak and groan and how much trouble he could have saved over the years if Fiona had the means for something similar in her home. Leia paused at a door, one of many that lined the hallway. Han caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror that hung on the wall across from Leia's room above a low glass table. He looked out of place, his newsboy cap was tipped back slightly and his shaggy hair poked out from under it and curled around his ears. He hadn't bothered to shave that morning and a five o'clock shadow peppered his jawline and cheeks with dark stubble.

Han watched Leia for a moment as she moved around her room. She emptied her bag of a few textbooks and papers, pushing them with her foot to the back of her closet behind a large wicker hamper. She pulled a few articles of clothing and other essentials from hangers and from dresser drawers and shoved them into her bag quickly, not bothering to fold them or organize them in any fashion. Pausing, she thought to herself of anything else she needed to grab. She had the bare necessities to survive, the future of her life now contained into a single bag. She turned and looked at Han. His back was now turned to her as he ran his fingers across the edge of her desk, his gaze focused on the items scattered across the desk top, little pieces and glimpses of Leia's life. A silver frame sat along the back corner of the desk and held a picture of Leia and Winter from a few years ago. They looked to be around sixteen years old and both were dressed in summer sundresses. They were seated together on a wooden swing, squished together on the seat that was clearly child sized. Her hair was shorter then and not pinned back in the tight braids she wore now. It fell gently around her shoulders and whisped in soft strands around her face. Leia was laughing in the picture, a genuine smile that dimpled her cheeks and made her eyes crinkle around the edges. He had never seen her look such a way in a photograph before. She looked happy: a sudden pang of guilt hitting him in the stomach.

"Han?" Leia questioned as she fastened her bag closed.

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want" he replied, not turning around to face her, still focused on the picture of her and Winter.

Setting her bag down, Leia took a few steps towards Han and ran her hand across the back of his coat. Finally turning to face her, he looked at her as he leaned back along the edge of the desk.

"What do you mean?" she asked quietly, a hint of confusion in her voice.

"You seem to have a good life here"

"I did. But that's not the life I want anymore".

"You have everything in the world, Leia". Han could not imagine living in a house such as hers, having every opportunity in life she could possibly want at a whim. He suddenly felt that by him asking to come along with him, he was being incredibly selfish. He had no reason to stay in Chicago, no family to go home to and a handful of problems that surrounded him. She had a family and friends. She was pursuing an education, had hopes for her future and he felt that he was interrupting all of that. He looked at her, not quite sure how to articulate his thoughts into words. He loved and cared for her in such a way he had never felt for another person before yet he now felt as though he was not good enough for her.

"If I stayed, I wouldn't have you. I don't need my parents money or all this...stuff". Leia waved her arm around the room as she spoke. Everything in her life was material, a status, a display of things that meant nothing to her. "I'm miserable here. I live by everyone else's expectations".

She stepped closer to him and rested her hands against his chest. Raising on her tiptoes, she kissed him in reassurance that everything she actually needed and wanted in her life stood right before her. "Trust me. If I had any doubts about this, I would have just continued to call you crazy in the middle of the street and we wouldn't be here right now". She paused for a second, studying his expression. She wasn't quite sure what he was thinking, his hazel eyes wide in the low light of the room. "I love you" she reminded him gently.

Straightening himself from the edge of the desk, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He realiezed wasn't being selfish. She was choosing to leave with him on her own accord and for reasons, while he didn't understand all of them, were ones that she could not escape from otherwise.

"I love you too".

Leaving her the bedroom and making their way back downstairs, Leia pulled the front door shut behind her and followed Han across the porch, down the steps and onto the driveway. She stopped and turned to look back at her house for one last time. She didn't feel sad leaving it behind. The life she had in the house had happy memories, but also many ones of sadness. She was not born into this life, she was chosen, for whatever reason by Bail and Breha to be their child, groomed and taught to be who she was. She wondered what her true identity was, questioning how much her adoptive parents had allowed her to actually be herself. They had always withheld where she came from her. The questions about her origins, she had long abandoned asking, for the answers to them that she sought never came. The mayor's daughter was a title that had been bestowed on her and that who she was supposed to be. Adjusting the strap of her book bag, she turned away from the house and skipped a few steps across the snowy pavement to catch up to Han.

* * *

Bail sat across from his wife at the dining room table. Leia's normal chair was empty, a place set for her but remained empty as a maid brought dinner, leaving the third plate on the serving cart she had brought in with her untouched as she noticed that Leia was absent from the table. Reaching for a crystal cut glass in front of him, Bail took a long sip of water, pausing as he lips rested at the edge as he looked at Leia's unoccupied place at the dinner table. Her absence was unusual and beginning to worry him.

"Breha, did Leia say she was going to be late to dinner?" Bail asked as he set his glass back onto the table.

"She probably stayed late with one of her clubs. She's been so busy this semester" Breha replied as she began to cut the steak on her plate.

"It's not like her to not phone though if she was planning on staying late on campus".

Bail pushed his chair from the table, taking the napkin from his lap as he stood and tossing it onto the tabletop. "I have a bad feeling about this. I'm going to phone the University and see if she is still there".

Breha only nodded as her husband left the dining room. Bail was an overprotective father, sometimes too much so. She continued to eat in silence in the empty dining room, spearing a green bean onto her fork, the silverware clinking against the plate. She had a nagging feeling in her stomach that something wasn't right, but tried to push the thought aside as she trusted that Leia was fine. Leia had discussed with her a few days ago over dinner how she had a busy semester ahead of her, clubs and a full load of classes would keep her away from home more than before.

Bail returned after a few minutes away, a concerned look on his face as he sat back down. He made no concern with his meal as he pushed the full plate away from him and looked towards his wife.

"I spoke with both Professor Mothma and Dodonna. Both said that Leia was not in attendance in either of her afternoon classes today".

"She never misses her classes" Breha replied, setting her fork down at the edge of her plate. The news was troubling but she still held onto hope that Leia would come in through the door at any moment, perfectly fine and with a reason behind her absence. "She'll be home soon".

* * *

Breha couldn't have been more wrong as the grandfather clock chimed midnight and Bail paced back and forth across the large rug in the lounge. Any flash of headlights cutting through the darkness coming down the street caused him to walk to the front window and pull back the curtains, looking out to the snowy street to see if it was his daughter finally coming home. Each passing car that did not stop and turn into the front driveway caused his heart to sink a little further in his chest.

Sitting in a wing backed chair near the fireplace, Bail pressed his fingers into his temple as he rested his head against them. Working his forehead in small circles, he watched as the last of the flames in the hearth died out into a heap of glowing embers. There had been no sign of Leia in the hours he had been waiting for her and his eyes were growing heavy with sleep. Figuring there was nothing more he could do for the night, he decided to make his way upstairs to his sleeping wife.

The bedroom was pitch black as Bail quietly made his way to bed. He was physically tired, but his mind still raced at the thought of Leia's whereabouts. Pulling back the quilt, Breha stirred in her sleep as Bail was about to climb into bed next to her.

"Bail?" She questioned, half awake as she rolled towards him.

"She's still not home" Bail sighed. He let go of the quilt, letting the fabric fall back to the mattress. He was not a man to sit idly by for long when something was amiss, knowing that despite how tired he felt that sleep would not come to him that night.

"No?" Breha asked as she sat up in bed. "Bail, I'm starting to get worried now. She has never been this late".

"I'm going to check her room. Something isn't right" Bail said, his voice wavering as his worry came through his words.

Pulling the quilt from her, Breha rose from the bed and wrapped her robe around her nightgown as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She followed her husband down the hall to Leia's room, their footsteps quiet against the carpeted floor. Pushing the door to Leia's room open, Bail flipped on the light switch and looked around the room. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Leia's coat and book bag were gone, typical of her off attending a day of classes. Her bed was still neatly made from that morning, her desk still in the disorganized array of papers and various items she had left there. The couple said nothing to each other as Bail paced across the room towards her closet, searching for any sort of clue that could possibly tell him where his daughter could possibly be.

Breha stepped around Leia's bed in the space between the mattress and the window with the intention of switching on the lamp that sat on a nightstand in the corner. Noticing a bit of knitted fabric sticking from under the dust ruffle, she bent down and reached for it, pulling the cardigan Han had given to Leia from it's hiding spot under the bed. Holding it up, she examined it for a moment before turning towards Bail.

"What is that?" Bail asked, wondering what such an article of clothing could be doing in his daughter's room. It clearly was a man's, far too large and dingy looking to be something of Leia's.

"I don't know. It was under her bed" Breha replied calmly.

She was every bit as confused as her husband as why Leia would be stashing away such an item in her room. Breha began to fold the handmade cardigan, crossing the sleeves across each other before folding the sweater in half in her arms.

"You don't think Leia has a secret lover we don't know about?" Breha suggested to her husband.

Grabbing the sweater from his wife's hands, the neat folds undoing themselves as Bail crumpled it in his fists, his eyes narrowing as he squeezed the knitting in his fingers as his mind began to piece past events together and his temper began to flare.

"Whoever she was talking to that night we came home early, he's been in here! How dare he come into my daughter's room!"

"Bail, calm down. We have no proof he was here".

"Men don't just leave behind articles of clothing without…" His words trailed off as he cleared his throat, unable to continue. The thought of his daughter sneaking someone into his house, let alone whatever _activities_ might have occurred between them was enough to turn his stomach. "Whoever he is, he's a scoundrel and no one I would ever approve of for Leia".

Breha sat against the edge of Leia's bed, running the tie to her robe through her fingers as she looked down at the silken fabric for a moment, collecting her thoughts.

"Leia is a smart girl. Whoever she might have taken up with, I doubt she would just run off with them".

"Then where is she? Leia has never been like this. Up until a few months ago, she never dared to sneak behind our backs for any reason" Bail sighed.

He knew that Leia was no longer a little girl, that the day would come that she would fancy a man. She had been courted by a few men before, all ones he never felt unsafe with allowing his daughter going to dinner or a show with for the evening. He knew who the men were. They always introduced themselves to him when they came to pick her up, many were sons of couples he knew personally, whether it be from his political career or from the same social circles. He never imagined that Leia would reject a well to do gentleman for some mystery man who only called her late at night. For whatever reasons, she was keeping her life from him. He forgot sometimes that Leia was not the little wide eyed child that would climb onto his knee while he sat in his office and tell him about her day at school. He knew that Leia had a spirit in her that could not be locked away or tamed, that she was always outspoken and opinionated on things she truly believed in. He never imagined that she would feel the need to keep her life from him though, a veil of secrecy around her.

Joining his wife on the bed, Bail sat down beside her along the edge of the mattress. Tossing the sweater to the floor, he wrapped an arm around Breha's shoulders.

"I'm calling Chief Oberholtzer".

* * *

The Falcon's headlights cut through the darkness as the old Fold bumped its way along the road. Snow covered farmland now surrounded them, a stark contrast the concrete and brick buildings of Chicago. The flat land stretched out around them for miles, uninterrupted by any sign of civilization in the darkness.

"What time is it?" Leia sleepily asked as she picked up her head from Han's shoulder. She had dozed off against him, blinking slowly as she adjusted to her new surroundings.

"Probably around three" Han guessed as he focused on the road in front of him, a never ending lane of pavement. "I was going to stop soon". He was growing tired himself, the first few hours of driving, he ran on pure adrenaline, his main focus being getting them as far from the city that night as possible. Outside of Chicago, the state of Illinois was a vast expanse of flat farmland that as the miles passed by, began to blur together as one never ending snowy field causing Han to yawn occasionally as he listened to Leia's soft breathing as she slept peacefully against him.

Cutting the headlights, Han drove down a gravel road that lead into a small roadside park. A few large oak trees surrounded a patch of snow covered grass with a single bench placed against the base of one of the trees. It wasn't much, but it was out of the way and partly hidden from the road.

"We're sleeping here?" Leia asked as Han shut off the Falcon. She had forgotten how dark the night could possibly be without the streetlamps of the city burning bright down every street, the never ending expanse of land around her an unfamiliar feeling.

"Best to lay low 'til we at least get out of Illinois. Who knows if anyone is looking for us yet".

"We're in the middle of nowhere. Who's going to see us?"

"Sweetheart, just trust me on this okay?"

Han was well aware that his warrant didn't disappear once they left Chicago city limits. He had a price on his head that would follow them to at least the state line, if not all the way to California. The last thing he wanted was for some police officer stumbling upon them and discovering that he had just found a mayor's daughter and a wanted man together. He had a knack for talking his way out of tight situations in the past, but even with all of his Solo luck on his side, he couldn't possibly imagine getting them out of that one.

Han turned slightly and reached to the small space in the truck behind the front seats. He moved Leia's bag to reveal a pile of his own clothes and various items he usually kept in the Falcon, a backup of sorts in case he ever needed to flee. He never thought he would actually be on the run, let alone with Leia, but was silently thankful he was somewhat prepared. He reached for a blanket and pulled it towards him, letting the fabric unfold as he draped it across Leia.

"That should keep you warm"

"What about you?" Leia asked.

"I'll be fine" Han assured to her.

Leia glanced at him from the corner of her eye and lifted the blanket from her with her arm, inviting him to join her underneath it. She wasn't about to let him to freeze all night for the sake of her own comfort. Han moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her, allowing for her to nestle against his side. She lowered the blanket down over the both of them, pulling her corner of it close to her chin. The fabric was rough against her skin, but between the blanket and Han, she was warm. She could feel her eyelids growing heavy with sleep as she thought that she was really here with him, miles and miles away from her old life, whatever the future held on the road ahead of them.

* * *

The sun was just cracking above the horizon in the early morning hours, casting a pinkish glow across the snow covered fields that surrounded them. Han let go of Leia, carefully shifting away from her and slowly opened the door the Falcon. He was trying his best to keep the metal hinges from squeaking too loudly in the cold and waking Leia. She was still curled up on the front seat wrapped in the woolen blanket that was pulled tight around her chin, undisturbed by his movements.

Making his way to the back of the Falcon, Han bent down and began working the screws loose that held the license plate to the bumper of the truck. After a few attempts, they turned loose, the plate dropping into the snow. Han reached for it, tapping against his leg before reaching into the bed of the truck and pried open part of the smuggling hatch. He reached for another plate, one with a different series of numbers. He was erring on the side of caution, the police in the Chicago already had his plate number he had been using. While that number was also a fake, he figured it would be best to stay one step ahead, a smugglers way of thinking that had been deeply ingrained in him early on in his career. Feeling slightly at ease, he tightened the screws to the new license plate and stepped back in the snow, examining the new series of numbers before making his way back inside the Falcon.

Leaning back in his seat, he lit a cigarette from the half empty pack he'd lifted from Chewie the day before and took a drag. He wasn't tired anymore, figuring he'd let Leia sleep for another hour or so before they'd continue on. She looked peaceful, hardly wanting to disturb her by starting the Falcon's noisy engine and bumping down the gravel path back to the main road. The tobacco popped and sizzled as it burned slowly in the winter air.

Leia stretched her legs under the blanket. Her feet were cold, despite being tucked under the blanket while she had slept, all warmth had seemed to leave her. She pulled the woolen fabric from her chin as she opened her eyes. Looking out the windshield at what seemed like a never ending expanse of snowy fields in the early morning light, she remembered that they were miles away from Chicago. She noticed Han's absence from beside her as she pulled herself up to a sitting position, recalling how she had fallen asleep curled against his side with his arm wrapped around her, everything from the day before coming back to her.

"Morning, my princess".

"Why are you awake so early?" she asked, folding the blanket down across her lap as she watched Han take another drag from the cigarette.

"Couldn't sleep any more".

A silence fell between them, an awkwardness much like when Han had first brought Leia to his room after the speakeasy on the New Year's Eve. It was in these moments that the differences between them seemed vast, neither quite sure what to say to one another. They were still strangers to each other in many ways.

Han cracked the window and flicked the spent cigarette out of it into the snow before rolling up the windowpane again.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, breaking the silence between them. He could feel his own stomach rumble as he spoke. The last thing he had eaten was the breakfast Fiona had cooked for him the morning before.

"A little" Leia replied. She was hungry herself, wondering where they were going to find a meal in what seemed to be a never ending expanse of farmland.

"There's probably a town somewhere close"

"You really didn't think this plan through very well, did you?"

Leia leaned forward, opening the glove compartment in the front of her. A mess of papers was shoved haphazardly into it, a few from the top of the pile fluttering down towards the floor.

"What are you doing?" Han asked as he reached across to shut the compartment.

"Looking to see if you have a map".

"I don't" Han snapped, more forcefully than he intended to as he reached for the papers on the floor. In the process of Han moving across her, Leia had to sit back in her seat and cross her legs up underneath her to make room for him. He shoved the papers back into the compartment, trying to rearrange them enough for it to close again.

"So you are just driving with no plan of where we are going?"

"I know exactly where we are going. This road goes from Chicago to California. I don't need a map to tell me that".

Leia crossed her arms. "You don't have to get cocky with me".

It was far too early to be fighting, she thought as she glared at him, waiting for any kind of response from him. For the first time, she wondered to herself what exactly she was doing. She knew next to nothing about the man she was with other than he was a smuggler who had more to run from than she did and that he was not a morning person. Had she made the wrong decision agreeing to come along with him? She wasn't exactly sure why she had thought Han had planned everything out. She had hardly given it much thought to the specifics of the journey when she agreed to it.

The compartment finally clicked shut and Han sat back. He hadn't intended to snap at Leia, his hunger and the fact that no one had ever dared to just help themselves to anything in his truck before getting the best of him for a moment.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart".

Leia remained unmoved, the cold look in her eyes matching the frozen land surrounding them. He had a way of getting under her skin, yet when she would usually be absolutely ready to explode at him, he somehow would redeem himself at the right moment. Her expression softened slightly at his apology, realizing that unlike everything in her life before now, they didn't need a detailed plan for every moment.

"You're stuck with me, hot shot". She cracked a smile at him, letting him know that she wasn't angry with him and that she placed her trust fully in him. Any annoyance between them dissipated as quickly as it had come on. Han couldn't help but to smile back at her as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him. Leia giggled softly as she fell into his embrace.

"There's no one else I'd rather be with, my princess".


	7. Chapter 7

**Chicago, Illinois. January 1929.**

A loud knocking against the front door jolted Fiona awake in the armchair in the front room near the fireplace. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she was confused for a moment of who could possibly be pounding against the door in the middle of the night. She had hardly remembered falling asleep, the scarf she had been working on still resting against her legs. Moving the ball of yarn from her lap, the knocking only grew louder, the rasping echoing through the lower level of the home with a fervor.

"I'm comin' I'm comin'... hold on" Fiona mumbled under her breath as she set the knitting needles and ball of wool on a nearby table as she rose from the chair and made her way to the door.

A blast of frigid air hit her as she pulled the front door open. A tall man with blonde hair peeking out from the sides of his hat stood in the doorway. A long tan coat was buttoned tightly around his lanky frame and a police badge already held out firmly in his hand in Fiona's direction.

"Sorry to bother you so late, ma'am. I'm Chief Peter Oberholtzer, Chicago Police. May I please come in?"

Fiona nodded in silence, her mind still foggy with sleep as she allowed the Chief to enter her home, shutting the door behind him as he removed his woolen fedora from his head.

The Chief followed Fiona into the living room as she lit a oil lamp, turning the brass knob at the base to lower the flickering flame. The room was illuminated with a yellowed glow as the Chief stepped around to face Fiona.

The Chief reached into his coat and withdrew a small pad of paper along with a fountain pen. Flipping the pad open he studied it for a moment, a jostled array of handwritten notes were scribbled across the thin paper. "If you don't mind, I have a few questions for you about Han Solo".

"What about him?" Fiona asked bluntly as she pulled her robe tighter around her waist as she turned towards the Chief. She studied the man standing tall and rigid in the low light in front of her. Any other house guest, she would had offered a warm cup of tea, but she was wary of him, an unwelcome visitor she wished to be done with as soon as possible.

"This is the last known address he used. Does he stay here?" the Chief asked as he tapped the end of his pen lightly against the side of the paper.

"I rent a room to him, yes" Fiona replied.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Why?" Fiona asked, unwilling to let on too much information to the police chief without knowing exactly why he wanted to know such facts. She knew Han was not perfect, choosing to live his life on a dangerous edge, but she had never had to deal with the police showing up looking for him in the middle of the night before.

"Han Solo was involved in a small altercation yesterday in a coffee shop near the University of Chicago. Solo and the other man involved left the premises when asked to by the owner, but the real concern is who was also seen leaving with him after the incident occurred. Do you know anything about Han's involvement with a young woman by the name of Leia Organa?"

Fiona stiffened slightly at the mention of Leia's name. "I don't ask what Han does when he's not in my house. He's a grown man".

"I see" the Chief replied before pausing for a moment. "Are you aware that he has a warrant for his arrest for the transportation and sale of illegal liquor?"

"I was not" Fiona answered truthfully. She shook her head at the news that Han was a wanted man by more than just the Hutts, displeased and saddened that Han had not listened to her all the times she had told him his lifestyle was going to catch up to him eventually.

"Besides the warrant, he was also the last person spotted with Leia Organa before she disappeared yesterday".

"What do you mean _disappeared_?" Fiona plainly asked, her tone cool, masking the frustration within her that Han had been somehow stupid enough to drag Leia into his mess.

"She failed to come home last night and her parents have yet to hear anything about her whereabouts. We believe that she may be with Han Solo. Whether it be freely or against her will, we do not know yet".

Fiona narrowed her eyes at the Chief's ludicrous accusation that Han had kidnapped Leia, holding back a smart comment at how quickly the police could jump to such a conclusion just because of who they thought Han was and how he appeared to them on paper.

"I do not know how much you know about your boarders, but Han Solo has a lengthy criminal record and known ties to the North Side Hutts. For him to have any association with Leia Organa raises many questions".

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't provide ya any answers to 'em" Fiona replied firmly.

The Chief stared at Fiona for a moment, her arms crossed against her chest and her eyes narrowed so the corners crinkled into fine lines. Accepting that she was not going to give him any further information on Han, the Chief tucked away his pen and paper and turned his hat in his hands, placing it back on his head.

"If you have any information or if Han returns here, please call me" the chief instructed to Fiona as he withdrew his business card from his coat pocket and passed it to her.

Fiona trailed the Chief to the front door in silence, pulling open the wooden door for him, letting a blast of cold wind swirl past them causing the oil lamp to flicker and cast long shadows for a moment across the walls.

"Have a good night, ma'am" the Chief said coolly as he stepped back into the winter night, tipping his hat towards Fiona with his index finger before making his way down the front walkway.

Fiona nodded and shut the front door without reply, turning the lock to secure the deadbolt before resting her back against the wooden door and letting out a long sigh. Touching her fingertips against her forehead, she closed her eyes as she let her hand fall across her chest, making the sign of the cross. Her eyes opened as she looked towards the ceiling, silently hoping someone above was listening to her.

"Lord be with ya, Han and Leia. Ya gotten yourselves into a mess".

* * *

 **Chatham, Illinois.  
** _1,917 miles to California_

Han and Leia had driven for less than hour before coming into a small farming community. Along the main street, which was hardly more than a few blocks long, Leia had spotted a small diner and they decided to stop. Central Illinois was mainly rural, towns were few and far between, nothing more than small specks of civilization among miles and miles of endless flat expanse of snow covered cornfields. At Han's instance, he parked the Falcon off the main street, a few blocks away from their destination. He was still on edge, despite being hours from Chicago city limits, he was constantly looking over his shoulder as they walked through the sleepy town.

The restaurant was only a counter and a few tables in small storefront. Aging wallpaper adorned the walls, yellowing and peeling in the corners, the faint floral pattern hardly visible after years of sunlight beating against it through the front windows. A few locals along the counter sat reading morning newspapers or chatting with each other, hardly giving Han and Leia a second glance as they entered. A wind chime hung above the door, twinkled softly, alerting a waitress with brown hair flecked with gray around the temples behind the counter to their presence. She called out to them in a gruff voice to sit wherever they liked and that she would be with them in a minute. She occupied herself again, filling a coffee mug for a farmer in overalls and a heavy flannel shirt sitting at the counter.

Leia followed behind Han as he chose the furthest table in the back corner of the diner, a small booth that provided them a bit of privacy. She had noticed he always had an air of caution about him, finding safety and solace tucked away in corners, scanning his surroundings, searching for trouble before it could surprise him. Leia unbuttoned her coat, folding it and placing it into the corner of the bench style seat before sliding in next to it. The small diner was warm, a welcomed feeling after waking up freezing in the Falcon. The waitress made her way to their table, filling their coffee cups and placing glasses of water and menus before them. As Leia looked over the menu, she hadn't realized how hungry she really was, scanning over the items available as her stomach grumbled under the table. Each meal listed on the menu sounded better than the last one. _Pancakes? Or eggs and toast? Would Han be upset if I ordered one of everything?_ she silently mused to herself as she continued to read the diner's offerings.

Han fiddled with the wrapper from his straw as they waited for their breakfast to arrive, absent mindlessly tying the thin paper into an intricate knot. Leia watched his fingers work, the paper twisting and looping around in his strong hands before he pulled it tight and discarded to the space on the tabletop between them. Taking a long sip of her coffee, she felt the warmth of the strong liquid flood through her.

"Where'd you learn how to do that?" she asked as she lowered her mug back to its saucer, amazed that he had so easily tied such a knot without even looking at what he was doing.

"The Navy" he replied casually, hardly aware that she had been watching him.

"You served in the military?" Leia asked, surprised at Han's admission into his past. Up until this moment, she had never heard him speak about events in his life prior to their meeting.

Han nodded his head in a nonchalant fashion as he reached for a sugar shaker and poured a steady stream of white crystals into his own cup of coffee. He rarely told anyone about his short lived military career. "It's how I met Chewie" he added as if he was talking about something as demure as the weather.

Han stirred his coffee, his focus more on the swirling liquid in his cup than the astonished look on Leia's face at his admission into his past. He tapped his spoon against the lip of the mug before he placed it on the edge of his saucer. He reached for his cup of coffee, steam curling from the dark liquid in the ceramic mug as he took a slow sip. It was still bitter and slightly burnt tasting, but it was warm and caffeinated and exactly what he needed in the morning to wake him up fully. He had sacrificed his own comfort the night before to allow Leia to sleep peacefully. He had slept fitfully, waking every few hours. He was unable to be completely at ease, the fear of someone discovering them weighing heavy on him. He couldn't wait for them to be out of Illinois, knowing that his warrant would still trail them, but the likelihood of it catching up to him would diminish the further away from Chicago they were, so he hoped.

Leia didn't press Han for any further details about his past, sensing that for whatever reason, it was not a subject Han liked to talk about. She was curious though. She loved and trusted him yet knew so little about him, wanting to know more about where he came from and what his life was like.

The waitress approached their table again, this time her hands grasping a tray full of plates. She worked quickly to set their food in front of them. Leia looked down at the large plate containing her order: an omelette with cheddar cheese and tomatoes, a couple links of sausage, a side of potatoes and on another smaller plate, a single slice of toast with a melting pat of butter in the center of it. She couldn't remember a time she was so happy to see so much food in front of her, quickly reaching for a fork and digging into the seasoned potatoes, hardly caring to remember her years of training on table manners or the fact a handsome smuggler was sitting across from her. She happily took a bite of of the potatoes, quickly followed by a bit of omelette and then sausage, overjoyed to finally have something to calm her rumbling stomach.

Leia had almost finished everything on the plates in front of her as she sat back in the padded booth style bench. Han looked at her as he wiped his hands against a napkin before balling it up in his fingers and dropping it onto his own empty plate. He couldn't help to smile a bit at her. This was probably the closest thing Leia had ever experienced in her life to roughing it, only having to endure a few hours with a rumbling stomach, while to Han, being able to afford a full meal a rare luxury.

Pulling a dollar bill and a few coins from his pocket, Han left the money on the table. Taking one last sip of coffee, he slid from the bench as Leia stood next to him, pulling her coat around her and fastening the buttons closed.

"Ready, Princess?" he asked as he extended his hand to hers. Their fingers intertwined as they made their way out of the diner, both full of renewed energy for the day.

* * *

Back in the Falcon, the town they had stopped in was long behind them as the endless expanse of cornfields surrounded them again. The snow covered farmland was a stark contrast to the bright blue winter sky that seemed to stretch on for miles in every direction. Leia had pulled her feet up to the edge of the seat, her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin rested on her knees as she watched the land spread out in an infinite plane front of them. Han focused on driving, only moving slightly when the Falcon needed to be shifted into another gear.

"Where were you born?" Han asked as he pushed the gear shift to the truck and leaned back in his seat again, his other hand casually draped against the top of the steering wheel. He glanced from the corner of his eye at her, her tiny body almost seeming as though she was folded in half in the front of the Falcon, her deep brown eyes breaking from the landscape and meeting his for a brief second.

"I don't know. My parents never told me" Leia replied, surprised that Han had asked her such a question, wondering if he was just as curious about her as she was about him. She sat up slightly, letting go of her knees and rearranging herself so one of her legs was crossed under her and the other dangled towards the floor.

"Really? You don't even know where you came from?"

"No. I asked once. My father looked at my mother and she just sat in silence".

"What do you think they are hiding from you?"

"I don't know" she replied. No one had ever asked her such a question before, never thinking that her adoptive parents might know something about her birth parents that they wished to keep from her. She shook her head, dismissing the thought, quickly wishing to change the subject from herself. She had a happy childhood, her parents gave her a life that many children could only dream of. She always had friends and a loving family that supported her, despite them not being her blood.

"Where did you grow up?" she asked with a air of caution. She wasn't sure if he would be receptive to talking to her about his past seeing how quickly he had gone quiet when she had asked about his military service earlier.

"Chicago. Born and raised" Han answered with a muted sense of pride for his hometown.

"What about your parents?"

Han focused on the road ahead of them, his expression blank for a moment. He swallowed a lump in his throat that had suddenly formed at Leia's question.

"Never knew my father. Ran away from home and never looked back" Han finally replied, not elaborating on any details of what drove him to leave or what had become of his family.

"So you basically raised yourself?" Leia asked as she shifted her weight slightly in the seat to face Han. Her deep brown eyes held a sadness for him, not quite sure how to express it in words. She knew he wasn't looking for sympathy or pity from her. She was finding it difficult to comprehend what his life must had been like for him as a young man alone and left to fend for himself.

"I guess you could say that" Han gruffly replied.

"I'm sorry I asked" Leia said as she looked down at her lap and pulled a stray thread of wool that hung loose from the hem of her coat.

Han reached to shift the Falcon again and then reached across for Leia's hand, wrapping his fingers through hers as she let go of the errant string on her coat and looked up from her lap towards him. His expression had softened, the corner of his mouth turned up in a half smile.

"Don't be sorry. I've never told anyone about my past" Han said, a reassuring tone in his voice. He squeezed her hand, causing Leia to relax a bit and smile back at him. "If you really are that curious about me, we've still got a long way to California".

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Sorry for the delay in updating and a short filler chapter, real life has gotten crazy lately but I've got some things planned for these two, I promise._


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's Note:**_ _Thank you to everyone who left nice reviews on the previous chapter and also to everyone following along. You all are awesome! And this site decided to wonk out on me tonight and I had to re-post a few chapters but everything should be back in order again.  
_

* * *

 **Southwestern Missouri. February 1929.  
** _1,589 miles to California_

After crossing the Mississippi river, Han felt a small sense of relief that he had made it out of Illinois a free man. As the days past and the Falcon continued on, they were now deep into the state of Missouri. The endless miles of snow covered cornfields were long gone behind them, replaced by gently rolling hills and thick forests. The setting sun cast long shadows from the barren trees that lined the roadway as the rusty truck made it's way downhill into a small town.

"What'd ya say we call it a day?" Han suggested to Leia.

Leia had removed her boots. Her small feet covered in woolen socks rested against the edge of the dashboard as she leaned back in her seat. Relaxed, she watched the forests roll past them. "It's still light out".

"I think we deserve a break, huh sweetheart?" Han remarked as he patted the top of the dashboard affectionately. "Falcon's not used to having to deal with hills, she's a city girl"

Leia wasn't exactly sure if Han's sweetheart was directed towards her or the Ford, but she didn't take offense. She had grown to understand Han's love for his bucket of bolts, her own fondness for the truck growing a little more each day spent in it.

* * *

The main street of the town was much like any other small farming community they had passed though. A few storefronts held typical businesses: a farm supply store, a small market attached to a corner cafe that offered cheap mugs of coffee and filling plates of food. The Falcon turned on to a residential side street. Houses lined the street on either side. One house stood out in particular, a picket fence bordering the front yard with a wooden sign nailed near the front gate. "Room for rent" was written across the wood in dark lettering.

Slowing the Falcon to a stop alongside the curb, Han turned the key in the ignition and shut the engine off.

"We are just going to walk up there and ask for a room?" Leia asked as she pulled her boots back on. She didn't know how these things worked, having never had to find a place to stay for herself before. They had been spending their nights sleeping in the Falcon, usually tucked away in small roadside parks, slightly off the beaten path, hidden away from any potential danger of being spotted.

"If they're home, yeah" Han replied nonchalantly as he grabbed the keys and opened the door.

Leia jumped from the Falcon, her winter coat unbuttoned over her light sweater and skirt. Her hat and gloves had been tucked away in her bag days ago, no longer needed to ward off below freezing temperatures. While still chilly, winter here was not as harsh as Chicago, the biting bitter wind from Lake Michigan now a distant memory. Leia rounded the Falcon to meet Han who was leaning casually against the back bumper waiting for her. She noticed that he too had shed his jacket and scarf, now wearing just a cardigan buttoned over a flannel work shirt tucked into dark denim pants. He still wore his tattered newsboy cap and his jawline that once was just peppered with dark stubble had turned into a beard. Taking her hand, Han and Leia began towards the two story home. It was a quaint house. A large porch typical of Midwestern homes wrapped around the front of the house. Gray shutters hung alongside the windows, standing out against the weathered white siding.

Knocking on the front door, Han and Leia were greeted by a middle aged woman who was wiping away flour from her hands against her apron. The couple had unexpectedly interrupted her evening dinner preparations.

"Can I help you?" she asked, a slight twang in her voice, a hint of a southern accent to her words.

"Saw you had a room for rent" Han said, turning slightly to point in the direction of the sign on the fence post behind them.

The woman studied Han and Leia, not used to seeing a couple looking for a room. The winter months usually left the apartment vacant. Most boarders she took in were seasonal farm workers, single men only in town for a paycheck, hired for short term work in the summer months.

"How long do you need it for?" she asked.

"Just the night".

The woman looked annoyed at Han's request. "I'm not a motel. I have a week minimum" she stated as she began to close the door.

"Ma'am" Han interrupted, placing his hand to stop the door. "Please. We are just passing through".

The woman sighed as she cracked the door back open again, figuring that any money coming in was better than nothing at all. The young couple standing on her porch looked harmless, just a working class man and his girlfriend looking for a place to stay. "Two dollars for the night. Stairs are around back, key's under the mat".

"Thank you" Leia chimed in as Han dug in his pants pocket for two dollar bills, handing them to the woman.

* * *

The small upstairs apartment was nothing remarkable but it was clean and had the necessary accommodations to suit them for the night. A bed took up most of the space in the main room, flanked by two nightstands, one with an oil lantern and a phone a top of it. A short hallway off the corner of the room led to a bathroom. The room reminded Leia much of Han's room at Fiona's house, simple and functional yet lacking any sort of personal touch to it that made it feel like a true home. Setting her bag down, she sat on the edge of the bed, bouncing a few times in a childlike fashion against the mattress before letting herself fall backwards against the quilt.

Leia sank into the blankets, having almost forgotten how nice it felt to stretch out in a normal bed after spending so many nights curled against Han in the cab of the Falcon.

"Comfortable?" Han asked as he set his own bag on the floor and pulled off his cardigan.

"It's not bad" Leia replied as she turned to her side to face him, letting her elbow rest against the bed and propped her head up against her palm.

Han lay down next to her in a similar fashion, his eyes meeting hers. "Hey, you know it's Valentine's Day today".

Leia smiled at him. "I didn't think of that until now. Is that why you are being extra nice to me today?"

Han was slightly surprised, having figured Leia the type of girl that would have remembered the holiday. He would have guessed that any former rich boyfriends of hers would have showered her in flowers and lavish gifts for the occasion.

"Sorry I didn't get you anything".

"I always thought it was a bit of a silly holiday. Shouldn't you show the person you are with every day that you love them?" Leia said as she leaned closer to Han. Her lips brushed against his for a second, her breath warm against his skin.

"You know what would be amazing?" she whispered to him in a low, sultry voice.

"What?" Han asked before stealing a quick kiss from her.

"A hot shower"

Han cracked a lop sided smile. "Only if I can join you".

A devilish smirk crossed Leia's face. "I think I would like the company".

Leia pulled her sweater over her head, setting it aside on the bathroom counter before turning to unfasten the zipper at the side of her skirt. Han was already bare chested, bent slightly as he unbuttoned his pants. Leia glanced up from her hip and watched him as he pulled his legs free from the fabric. While they had been intimate together before, Leia hadn't seen Han completely naked. The night after the speakeasy, they had feverishly pulled each other's clothes off under the blankets in the dark, not sparing a single second to actually observe one another, both too lost in the passion between them. Leia couldn't help to gawk at Han, his smooth olive skin, the muscles of his stomach defined by hard work and manual labor, his arms and legs toned much the same. Biting her bottom lip, she focused back on undoing her skirt, allowing the article of clothing to fall to the floor as she stepped free from it, trying not to smile to herself that she was about to get into the shower knowing that both of their intentions were to do anything besides get clean.

Leia pulled last pin from her braids, allowing her hair to fall free. Tilting her head back under the stream of water, she let the warmth soak into her scalp. Han couldn't help but to watch her, the way her body was arched backwards, her eyes fluttering closed momentarily as the warm water beaded and rolled down her chest.

"You have so much hair" he remarked somewhat clumsily, trying to regain composure of himself. He still found himself dumbfounded at times that a girl with such beauty as Leia wanted anything to do with him, let alone would be standing in front of him in the state she was currently in, outside of any realm besides his dreams.

Leia giggled as leaned forward, reaching for her long brown locks and gathering her damp hair in her palm before twisting it around in her hands, pulling the length over her shoulder. She felt self conscious for a moment at Han's remark. Averting her eyes from his, she glanced down to her small feet standing in the pooling water at the bottom of the tub. Han's bare feet were only inches from her, seemingly huge compared to hers.

"I like it" Han remarked as he placed his hand under her chin and tilted her face up towards him. Leia let go of her hair as Han let his fingers trace against her neck before leaning down slightly to kiss her gently.

Taking a small step forward, Leia kissed him back as her arms wrapped around Han's waist. Steam curled between them as the shower continued to run, the water pouring over the both of them, washing away any remaining trace self consciousness Leia had as she let herself melt into his embrace.

* * *

Leia woke the next morning, blinking slowly as her eyes adjusted to the filtered sunlight that streamed in through the lace curtains that hung over the single window in the room. She turned in bed, the quilt shifting against her bare skin. She was alone, the room silent, the rest of the bed empty. Sitting up slightly, she looked around the room in confusion. Han's sweater, cap and boots were gone, but his bag and the rest of his belongings still remained. Glancing over the the nightstand, she noticed a small handwritten note on a scrap of paper propped against the side of the oil lantern. Freeing a hand from the blankets, she stretched across the bed and picked the note up in her fingers.

 _Princess,_

 _Let you sleep in, didn't want to disturb you._

 _Went to get breakfast, I will bring you back something._

 _Love you._

Leia smiled as she set the note back down. She had learned quite a bit about Han over the last few weeks. Despite being a wanted criminal and a smuggler, she had realized that he was a bit of a romantic, always thinking of her before himself, always watching out and protecting her. She liked the small quirks about him she had noticed: that he put ketchup on almost everything he ate, added too much sugar to his coffee and had incredibly messy penmanship. She liked that he had gotten lazy and hadn't bother to shave in weeks, wore the same three outfits over and over, yet always was a gentleman in the fact he would pull off his worn cap and run his fingers through his hair whenever they entered a room. He had a certain Midwestern sensibility about him that despite a life as a criminal, he still maintained, always using pleases and thank yous when they were called for.

Leia untangled herself from the quilt and rose from the bed. Reaching for her robe, she wrapped herself in the fabric and paced up and down in the space along the end of the bed. She hadn't been alone since leaving Chicago, Han always beside her. Her thoughts wandered back to her old life as she tried to even remember what day of the week it was. The days on the road without any particular agenda had jumbled her sense of time. _Tuesday_ she concluded to herself after pondering the thought for a moment. If it wasn't for falling in love with a smuggler from the south side, any typical Tuesday in Chicago would have been spent sitting in a lecture hall before meeting Winter for lunch near campus. She missed her friend dearly, longing for the the casual midday meetups that they used to have regularly in her old life. A certain sadness pulled at her heart as she thought about how she may never have that again. New friends would come along, she figured, but none would ever compare to Winter.

Leia wasn't sure how long Han might have been gone for already or how long it would be before he returned. She paused, gathering her loose hair, running her fingers through it as she looked towards the corner of the room, her eyes settling on the phone. She knew there was substantial risk involved in what she was about to do, but pushed the thoughts from her mind. They would be leaving town shortly, if anyone was to be alerted to their presence here, they would be long gone with no trace of where they were heading to next. Turning on her toes, she let go of her hair as she made her way over to the table.

Picking up the earpiece to the phone, she paused for a second as the connection clicked and popped with static before starting to ring.

"Hello?" Winter's voice was muted, the connection between the two lines shaky at best.

"Winter?" Leia questioned, her friend's voice sounding unfamiliar to her at first.

"Leia!" Winter exclaimed, overcome with surprise. "Are you okay? Where are you? What happened?" Her questions came out rapidly, wanting to know everything at once.

"Are you alone?" Leia asked, not answering any of Winter's questions before knowing that it was completely safe to talk to her. She knew Winter's house well, it was practically her second home for so many years and she knew the only telephone was in the front room and offered little privacy for a secretive conversation.

"Yes, I'm alone" Winter assured to her before continuing. "Leia, I've been so worried about you. Your parents, my parents, everyone here has been worried sick about you".

"I'm fine" Leia calmly stated, unsure if she should continue as she debated silently with herself if she should disconnect the call.

A pause fell between the two friends, only the hiss of static of the line between them before Leia began to speak again.

"Winter. You can not tell anyone I called you".

"Are you with him?" Winter asked.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone". Leia was blunt with her words. She knew that Winter would keep her secrets, her friend always had. She never had to question her friend's trust before, but Han's overly cautious ways had started to rub off on her. Their freedom hung in a delicate balance.

"I promise".

Contented with Winter's promise, Leia responded. "Yes". I'm with Han".

Winter's tone turned serious at Leia's admittance. "Leia. The police know. They think Han kidnapped you. Chief Oberholtzer has been trying to track you both down for weeks. Your father was furious at first, but your mother insists that you left on your own accord".

"He didn't kidnap me. Do they really think that?"

"Yes. Anything they know about Han is from his police records. I heard our fathers speaking about it all a few weeks ago. Saying how Han's motive for singling you out was a display, a huge fuck you to your father for cracking down on bootleggers, how he was probably holding you and would demand a large ransom knowing you come from a wealthy family for your safe return".

Leia was stunned that her father would actually think such things, but Winter had a point. Her father did not know Han personally, his opinion of him was based on a rap sheet and the fact he was a scoundrel that had somehow been linked to her abrupt departure. Her eyes were wide and her lips were parted as she tried to speak, but the lump in her throat blocked any words from coming out. Chewing at her bottom lip, she managed to swallow, trying to regain composure of herself.

"You don't believe all that, do you?" Leia asked quietly.

"No. I know you love Han and he loves you" Winter replied. "I know he would never hurt you".

"I miss you".

"I miss you too. Be careful, okay?" Winter said, worry in her voice for her friend.

Leia nodded, despite Winter unable to see her silence gesture of agreement as she said her goodbyes to her friend. Placing the earpiece back on the cradle, she set the phone on the table and leaned against the edge of the mattress. Taking a deep breath, she could feel her eyes watering, tears pooling at the corners threatening to to roll down her cheeks. She never meant to hurt her family by leaving, never imagining that such extreme ideas of what had happened to her would be discussed.

The sound of the doorknob turning startled Leia as she quickly pulled the sleeve of her robe over her hand to wipe her eyes of the welling tears, hoping to remove any evidence that she had been on the verge of crying.

Han immediately noticed her eyes were ringed with red as she looked over her shoulder to greet him.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Nothing" she replied in poor attempt at a lie.

Han could see right through her false words as he took a few steps across the room, setting down a paper bag and folded the newspaper he carried in his hand as he walked. Sitting down beside her, he set the paper on the wrinkled blankets next to him and turned towards Leia.

"C'mon. Talk to me".

Looking into Han's eyes, she could tell there was worry in them for something besides her at the moment. She had never seen him with such an expression, confused of what could have happened while he was out.

"You look as though you've seen a ghost".

Han was silent as he reached for the newspaper beside him, unfolding it and handed it to Leia. Taking the paper, Leia looked down at the front page, the bold headline jumping immediately out to her.

 _Seven of Hutt Gang Massacred in Chicago_

 _Latest in violent gangster outbreak: scene too gruesome for onlookers_

Leia scanned the article, picking out the major details of what had happened between the two gangs, quickly reading through the print. She slowed down as she reached where the victims names were listed. After the seven names of the deceased, the fine print read one last name: _Charles "Chewie" Bacca - wounded and currently in police custody._

Leia looked up at Han in silence as he took the paper from her hands, tossing it towards the nightstand.

"You would have been there" she quietly stated, realizing that Han had concluded the same grave fact about the news.

"Most likely. I'm sure there's more to the story than what the paper's got".

"You would have been dead either way" Leia stammered, trying to not think of Han lying wounded or dead with the other men.

Han nodded as he wrapped his arm around Leia, pulling her close to his chest. He kissed the top of her hair before resting his chin against it. "But I'm not. I'm here".

"There's a death mark on you. There's still the law after you. After us".

"Everything is going to be alright, sweetheart" Han said, hoping to reassure her and in a way, himself too. He knew that the police would question Chewie, if he survived the injuries he had sustained in the shootout. The paper did not list how badly his friend was hurt, but Han knew that any Chicago mobster worth his salt, whatever family they associated with, shot to kill. Chewie would stay tight lipped, taking whatever he knew about Han to his grave with him.

Leia took a deep breath, taking in how Han's flannel shirt smelled of lingering tobacco smoke as she rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes for a moment. She wanted to tell him what Winter had told her, but didn't want to admit to him that she had made the phone call. She stayed silent, secure in his arms, the only place that she truly felt safe.

Leia's fingers fiddled with a button on Han's shirt before she picked her head slightly from against the soft flannel. "I love you, no matter what happens to us".

Han held Leia close, not sure of what the future held for them as he looked down into her deep eyes. "I love you too, Princess".


	9. Chapter 9

**Central Oklahoma, March 1929.**

 _1,462 miles to California_

 _*Chapter contains some language and mild violence._

* * *

Leia pushed against the wood framed screen door and stepped out onto the covered porch. The evening was still warm, even as the daylight was rapidly fading. The air smelled like rain. In the distance, low dark clouds were gathering at the horizon line. Taking a seat in a wicker chair, Leia pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her heels against the edge of the seat. She looked out onto the land in front of her. Gently rolling fields spread out in every direction. It was still too early in the year for any crops to be planted, the reddish brown soil barren for the time being. She could picture a life here. A farmhouse with a garden out in the country of their own. Any memory of their former city life hundreds of miles away behind in her thoughts as she imagined Han and herself here. The Falcon was parked alongside the white wooden fence that ran across the front of the yard, as if that was the exact spot it should always be in. She had taken to the peacefulness of the back roads and the homeowners they had come across along the way that allowed them the stay the night. She had quickly become an expert at pointing out signs for rooms for rent and even better at knocking on doors to inquire about them for the night, any shyness about the practice she once had long gone.

A flash of lightening lit up the sky, followed by a low roll of thunder. Under the safety of the covered porch, Leia watched as the wind began to pick up, stirring the branches of the trees in the yard. She had always loved watching storms, but in Chicago the tall buildings always obstructed her view of the sky. Here in the wide open, she could see every zigzag of bluish lightning against the swollen clouds. A few drops of rain began to fall as the dark clouds spread over the homestead. Quickly the drops turned into a steady downpour. The rain was no longer gentle as it pounded against the roof above her.

The sound of the screen door creaking open behind her pulled her from her thoughts as Han made his way out onto the porch and took a seat in a chair next to her. The evening was warm enough for Han to only be dressed in a short sleeved work shirt and dark denim pants. His face was freshly shaven and his feet were bare as he relaxed back in the chair, crossing his ankle over his knee.

"What ya doing out here, sweetheart?"

"Just watching the storm". Leia didn't share the fact she had been daydreaming about Han and her living here. The thoughts of future children playing out in the yard as Han worked on the Falcon while she sat on the porch faded from her mind.

Han looked out in the direction that Leia seemed to be focused on, not quite sure exactly what she was staring at so intently until he interrupted her. The rain was still falling at a steady rate, along with an occasional rumble of thunder above them.

"How'd you feel if we spent a little time tomorrow in town?" Han asked.

He was wary of how exactly to approach the subject to Leia. While inside, he had been approached by the husband of the woman who had rented the room to them for the night. He was a farmer with dark hair and eyes not much older than Han that had engaged him in conversation. The man had offered Han a bit of homemade whiskey and told him that if he was looking to make a few extra dollars that he had a connection in town that could set him up with a job. His interest peaked at the proposition but he was unsure if Leia would be willing to accompany him on such a task. He had always worked alongside Chewie, a seasoned smuggler in his own right and a trusted friend. Going behind Leia's back was not an option either, he hardly wanted to lie to her just for some quick money. It wasn't in his nature to do such a thing, his passing greed was no match for his love for her, yet the temptation for it was.

"What for?" Leia asked. They had never spent much time in any one place for too long, afraid that they might catch unwanted attention. While they had no deadline on reaching California, the journey so far had been a steady one, always moving onto the next place as soon as possible. The only objective they had was to put as many miles between Chicago and themselves as possible.

"Might have found a way to make a little bit of extra money while we are out here".

"Doing what exactly?" Leia questioned, knowing that Han's past did not include any legal forms of acquiring income.

"Probably just a small job" he said. "There's a guy in town that I would have to talk to tomorrow about the details".

Leia gave Han a piercing look, her deep brown eyes conveying a mixture of annoyance and skepticism at the whole situation. "Han, you don't know if you can trust these people. This isn't Chicago".

"Couldn't trust anyone there either" Han remarked, realizing that Leia wasn't quite as easily convinced as he was that this was a good idea.

"It could be a set up for all you know" Leia suggested, trying to be a voice of reason. She was surprised that a long time smuggler such as Han was so willing to place his faith, and potential freedom, in a stranger's offer.

Han had thought of that possibility. He'd been burned before, the memory of the night by the riverbank and Lando flashed through his mind. But these were just local moonshiners, not some large scale city operation backed by the Hutts or any other criminal organization. Han weighed the risks, concluding that there was always an element of risk involved if the reward was worth anything.

"It sounds like a good deal and an easy job" Han countered.

Leia watched the rain for a moment as she bit her bottom lip. What was she to say to him? He knew more about how bootleggers worked than she did. _Maybe everything would be fine_ , she thought. _Yet we've come this far just to potentially get caught up in some stupid little job_ her mind countered. She had a bad feeling about it all. They had gotten along perfectly fine so far. She couldn't figure out his reasoning behind his wanting to take the man up on his offer.

Leia turned in her seat, pulling her knees closer to herself as she looked at Han. "I don't think you should do it".

Han looked back at Leia, not sure what to say. It was strange concept for Han to actually have to think of someone else besides himself. Before Leia, he wouldn't have thought twice about taking a job, unless there was an obvious catch to it. He had lived much of his life taking orders from only one person- himself. Chewie had occasionally voiced his displeasure at some of Han's ideas in the past, but always ended up going along with them, even if he didn't agree completely with what they were doing. If Leia was not with him, he would had already had gone into town that night and done whatever needed to be done, gone with his payment before the sun had cast first light over the horizon.

"I think I should". Han countered, no longer trying to hide his growing annoyance. "You don't know how this stuff works" he added with a huff.

"No, I don't" she admitted, a biting tone to her words. "But I know you've been vigilant this whole time and the minute someone offers you money, you throw all caution to the wind? Are you really that greedy and arrogant?"

"I don't need you to tell me what I should or shouldn't do".

"Then why did you even bother to ask me?" she exclaimed.

"I thought you would be a little more...optimistic...about it".

"I'm not going to go along with everything just because I'm stuck with you".

"Stuck with me?" Han growled as he pointed to himself. He pressed his finger into his chest, the fabric of his shirt wrinkling underneath the pressure. "If I remember correctly, you wanted to come along with me".

The pair continued to bicker back and forth with each other as the rain pounded above them. The intensity of the disagreement grew along with the storm until Leia snapped at Han. The words fell from her lips without her mind thinking of exactly what she was saying.

"I'm sure Chewie thought whatever got him to that alley was a good deal too" she yelled, her eyes filled with anger.

Leia had touched a nerve, salted a wound that was still fresh. She hadn't intended to hit so far below the belt. He had pushed her and she pushed back: too hard, too soon.

Silence fell between them, her words still hanging between them as Han's eyes grew dark. He uncrossed his legs and placed both of his feet against the wooden porch. The only sound as he stood was the rain. Towering over Leia, he pointed his index finger at her.

"I know what I'm doing" Han snapped at her. Her comment had made up his mind, all else be damned. "I'm taking the hooch. You can thank me later when we've got a nice setup in California".

Han's looming figure over her didn't scare her or unnerve her in the slightest. "I'm sure you know exactly what you're doing" she sarcastically bit back at him. "It's a wonder you are still alive" He stared at her wordlessly as his hand fell back to his side. He had no response for her. Turning from her, he pulled open the screen door and walked back into the house, letting the wooden frame slam behind him.

Leia was left alone on the porch. The storm was starting to calm as it neared it's end. The rain began to slow and the night was now damp and dark around her. She made no movement after Han's departure. She wasn't about to chase after him. Her irritation with him still boiled inside of her, knowing it would do no good to be near each other until both of their tempers had cooled off some. She sat in the wicker chair staring out into darkness mulling things over, letting time pass as she collected herself. She regretted saying what she had said, her words still ringing in her ears. Shaking her head, she worried she might have gone too far. Her stomach churned as she tried to calm herself down. Finally as the minutes dragged into an hour, she felt as though she had let enough time pass. She stretched her legs from the chair and stood. Smoothing her dress against the front of her thighs, she took a deep breath as she made her way into the house, prepared to apologize.

The room they were staying in was as simple and nondescript as any of the other rooms in the places they had rented along the way. An oil lantern burned with a low flame on a table in the corner of the room. The light from the lantern only dimly lit the space, enough to bathe the room in a dull glow, but not enough for Leia to be able to clearly read Han's expression. Han sat on the bed, his back against the headboard. His shirt was unbuttoned slightly and his long legs were stretched out in front of him. He remained quiet as Leia shut the door behind her.

Leia leaned against the doorway, suddenly not sure if she had allowed enough time to pass before coming inside. "I'm sorry for what I said".

Han knew exactly what she meant. The apology was for the comment about Chewie, not the fight as a whole, but he remained unmoved. He swallowed, his throat dry as he watched Leia intently before him.

Shifting her weight from one foot to another, not quite sure if she should stay in the room or give Han some space again. Her apology had elicited nothing from him. She hardly expected for him to forgive her right away, but his absolute lack of expression unnerved her. She had never seen him act in such a matter, but they also had never so bitterly fought before.

"I'm also not _stuck_ with you" she continued "I would have never come along if I didn't love you".

Han sat up slightly and folded his legs under him. "I love you too". His voice was quiet and cracked a little as he spoke.

"Why are you doing this?" Leia asked softly.

"This is paying our way, Princess".

"You said you had money when we left Chicago".

"I do. You think I'm somehow going to just get a job once we get to California? This little detour is for some extra just in case".

"And if you don't find work right away, are going to keep this charade you call employment up until you find something legit?"

"It's an income isn't it?"

"It can land you...us...in a world of shit".

Han found himself growing exasperated with her again. "You think I don't know that? You knew what I did when you met me. I never tried to tell you I was some upstanding citizen of society you could bring home to your parents for dinner".

Leia crossed her arms and glanced out of the corner of her eye at Han. She didn't want Han to be some man who would attend galas and social functions with her. She knew that in Chicago. They were worlds apart which was one of the many reasons why she decided to leave with him. She had fallen in love with him, imperfections, smuggler and all.

"I think my father wouldn't know what to do with you if you came to dinner".

Han's expression softened, cracking a half smile. "I don't know if he'd want to have me arrested first or kill me himself".

"My father's actually quite passive" she said softly, her own rigid posture relaxing a bit.

Leia stepped towards where Han was sitting on the bed, uncrossing her arms as she stood in front of him. "I hope you know what you're doing".

"Yeah, me too".

* * *

The next morning was clear and bright. The only remains of the storm from the night before was the smell of damp earth and a few puddles in the gravel driveway in front of the house. Any trace of anger or frustration from their fight the day prior had dissipated along with the dark clouds. They had time to waste before Han needed to meet the contact in town later that day, leaving them a rare chance with no immediate agenda. Han walked a few steps in front of Leia as she followed him across the front yard and towards a wooded area that was to the eastern side of the homestead. He carried a small leather bag in his hand. There was a certain lightness in his step that Leia had never witnessed before, as if he was a small boy off to explore the woods without a care in the world. Quickening her pace, she caught up to Han. Playfully, she linked her arm through his as they followed the slope of the land down a small hill towards a creek. The air was warm and spring-like with a gentle breeze as they reached the edge of the water. A clear stream bubbled and rushed past them as Leia let go of Han's arm. He scanned the creek bank, looking in both directions until he spotted a flat rock that jutted out from the hillside, deciding that he had found the perfect fishing spot.

The smooth rock was already warmed by the morning sun as Leia sat down and folded her legs beneath her. Smoothing her skirt down, she watched as Han broke off a long, skinny branch from a nearby tree before coming to sit down next to her.

"Hold that for a second" Han requested, passing Leia the stick before he leaned back a bit and pulled a folded knife from his front jeans pocket. Flipping the blade open, he reached for the twig again.

Leia watched as Han worked, his hands easily guiding the knife blade against the branch, making quick work of stripping the bark, leaving only a small portion of the bottom untouched to serve as a handle. Once finished, he passed the naked stick back to Leia as he tucked his knife back into his pocket. Leaning forward, he opened the bag he had brought with and removed a ball of fishing line.

Han reached for the bare end of the stick and made a loop with the line, pulling and twisting the line into an intricate knot before pulling it snug and feeding the rest of the line down towards the opposite end of the makeshift fishing pole. His hands met Leia's. Allowing the ball of line pass from his fingers to hers, he let go. Leia wasn't quite sure what to do with the contraception that she now held. She had fished once before as a small child with her father on a vacation, but never with a homemade fishing pole such as the one Han had constructed for them.

Han lept up from besides her and over the edge of the rock onto the embankment next to the creek. He worked his boot tip in the sandy mud for a second before crouching down, disappearing from view. He watched a worm wiggle in the dirt, waiting for the right moment before catching it in between his fingers. The nightcrawler's fat body squirmed in between Han's fingers as he stood and jumped back up onto the rock.

Smirking, Han made his way towards Leia.

"Han, don't you dare come near me with that thing!" Leia exclaimed, laughter in her voice as she scooted herself on the rock a few feet away from him.

"Why not, princess? It's just a worm!" Han laughed as he held up his fingers with a boyish grin on his face. Han shook the worm in her direction playfully before reaching for the end of the line and feeding it onto a small metal hook.

Leia carefully stood up and walked to the edge of the rock. The smooth boulder jutted out slightly over the creek below it. Angling the fishing rod towards the water, she made sure to keep the hook and worm at a safe distance from her, not wanting the slimy creature to come in contact with any part of her.

"How do I cast the line out?" Leia asked, not used to the crude contraption.

Han stepped behind her, wiping any trace of mud from his hands onto the front of his pant legs. Wrapping his arms around her, he gently held his hands against hers.

"Just tilt back like this" he said as he guided her and the pole back before letting her go as she brought it forward again. "Let the line go now". Leia let the line slip between her fingers, allowing it to arch forward away from them. The hook sunk into the water with a soft plopping sound. Leia passed the rod to Han as they both sat down again on the rock.

"You ever fished before?" Han asked, casually holding the fishing pole, knowing that they might have a long wait before anything might come along and nip at the line.

"Once, with my father in Wisconsin. But we had an actual fishing pole".

"Hey, this works just fine" Han protested lightheartedly. He never had the extra money in his life for a store bought pole. The few times in his youth he had ventured to the lake in Chicago to fish, it was always a game between him and his friends of who could find the best stick and construct a pole from whatever else they could find along the shoreline.

"I'll believe it when we catch something" Leia chuckled as she leaned against Han's side. Watching the water flow in front of her, she was lost in how it bubbled and ebbed as it made it way downstream, gently pulling the fishing line along with it. Han's grip on the other end kept it steady enough in the water as they waited for any fish to come along.

The morning wore on, growing warmer as the sun now was almost overhead them. The two had little luck catching anything so far, taking turns recasting the line into the water on occasion. Both were enjoying the fact that for a few hours, they were stationary. It felt foreign to stay in one place after so many days of waking and continuing on the road as soon as possible.

It was Leia's turn again to hold the fishing pole. She felt a tug, the branch bending slightly as the slack line suddenly became tight. She sat up in surprise that she might had actually caught something after waiting for so long. Pushing herself to her knees, she pulled back on the pole slightly, not quite sure how to go about reeling the line in.

"I think we caught something!" she exclaimed with excitement.

"Ha-ha! I knew we would!" Han chuckled as he reached to assist Leia pull the line in.

Han wrapped the line around two of his fingers and gave it a firm tug as Leia continued tilt the pole back over her shoulder. Whatever had latched onto the hook was strong, giving them both resistance as the end of the line finally emerged from the water.

At the end of the hook, there was a large clump of soggy tangled weeds. Leia instantly began to laugh as Han pulled the rest of the line into his hands and their prized catch dangled in front of them.

Han couldn't help to crack a smile as he untangled the mess of weeds from the hook.

"I think we've got to throw this one back" he laughed as he pitched the weeds back towards the water.

"So much for your Solo luck" Leia mischievously joked. "It's getting late anyways".

The fact that they did in fact have business to attend to became a reality once again. The carefree morning had come to an end as Han nodded and untangled the fishing line from the twig and wrapped it into a sloppy ball before tucking it back into the bag. Reaching for Leia's hand, he helped her up from her spot on the rock. Giving her a quick kiss, they made their way back up the hill.

* * *

Leia hopped from the Falcon. A breeze stirred the air around her, loosening a few wisps of hair from her braid that hung over her shoulder causing them to curl around her cheeks. Brushing the stray hairs aside as Han approached her, his hand was outstretched awaiting hers. The town was by far the largest town they had stopped in on their journey yet. While they had passed through the cities of St. Louis and Tulsa, they had not cared to stay long in them, preferring the safety of small towns where any news of a mayor's daughter and smuggler on the run from Chicago could not have possibly reached yet.

Leia wrapped her fingers through Han's before they made their way across the main street. She felt safe in his embrace, not that there was any immediate danger around them. Contented with his touch against hers, she felt as though they were closer to their new life together as they had been before. The warmth in the air was small taste of what the future had ahead of them. The morning spent fishing hinted a simpler time that she hoped would soon become commonplace for them once they reached California.

A streetcar rumbled behind them, dinging it's bell as it continued on its way. The downtown had many businesses along the main thoroughfare, a variety of shops, restaurants and a grand movie hall that rose above the brick two story buildings that lined the street. Passing by a group of young boys playing jacks on the corner of the sidewalk, Han led her onto a side street. It was much quieter. A few businesses were nestled along the sides of the brick buildings before the street turned residential. A green fabric awning stuck out over one of the last of the doorways, jutting it's way over the sidewalk. Leia wasn't exactly sure what to expect as they approached, but she kept her fingers interlaced in Han's as they made their way towards it.

There was no signage anywhere near the entryway as Han pulled open the heavy oak door for her. Letting her hand go, he allowed Leia to enter first before stepping behind her into the dim room. Smoke hung in a low cloud around a few overhead lights. The business was once a tavern, long shut down by prohibition. The long wooden bar sat empty, void of any liquor on the long glass shelving that ran behind it.

Leia suddenly felt uneasy in the strange surroundings. Gone was the calm she had moments ago, the feeling of apprehension creeping back into the pit of her stomach. Something told her to keep quiet, to go along with whatever business Han needed to attend to so they could get out there as quick as possible. Pushing the feeling aside, she followed Han as he made his way further into the room.

A few tables covered in linen table clothes dotted the room, empty save for one. A radio sat atop a tabletop near the center of the room, crackling and popping with static. A sports broadcast came faintly through the weak signal. Two announcers were discussing baseball, babbling back and forth over statics and future odds of the upcoming season. A few older men sat around the table listening intently to the show, despite the lack of a clear transmission.

A portly gray haired man dressed in a worn work jacket and a thick mustache noticed Han approaching him.

"What'dya think? Babe Ruth gonna have another season like last year?" the man said in a gruff baritone.

"I dunno. I'm a White Sox fan" Han replied casually.

The group of men collectively laughed at Han's answer. The mustached man leaned back in his chair, his cheeks reddened. "I wouldn't put money on them doing anything this season".

"Wasn't planning on it" Han grumbled back. He was accustomed to being in the company of Chicagoans. No matter how bad the Sox were, they still held an unwavering optimism and loyality for the team. Glancing back at Leia, she raised an eyebrow at him in curiosity. He had normally shied away from attracting any attention to them so far on the trip and now was smoothly interacting with a complete stranger. She had to remind herself that he had sought out the man on purpose.

"Hey, you look like a betting kind of guy".

"Not on sports. I like to at least have a chance at winning" Han smoothly remarked back to the group, an easiness about him.

The men laughed again as the mustached man stood from his chair, rounding the table and nearing Han.

Lowering his voice, the man glanced around the room before speaking to ensure that it was safe to continue. It was hardly necessary, the man knew everyone in the room aside from Han and Leia, but it was precautionary habit.

"We got a game of cards startin' up in a bit if you want to stick around. Maybe win a little somethin' nice for that doll ya got with ya" the man said, his gaze falling on Leia for a moment.

Leia opened her mouth to speak, hardly believing that Han looked as though he was about to take the strange man up on his offer. To her understanding, they had come here for him to line up a job, not stick around for a round of games.

"Han, I don't know if….." Leia began to say with an uneasiness in her voice.

Han cut in before she even had a chance to complete her protest. Her mouth closed as she intently watched him through narrowed eyes.

"What kind of game you talkin' about?" Han inquired.

"You ain't a rat or nothin'?" the man asked, half serious but with a smirk on his face, knowing that Han didn't look the type and would have never found the place if he wasn't sent by someone he trusted. As an added layer of protection, the local law enforcement was well paid off by the man who ran the establishment. The small police force in the town were bribed handsomely and always looked in the opposite direction at what occurred in the establishment as long their pockets remained fat, creating a fairly safe environment for the local bootleggers to conduct business in.

Shaking his head, Han cracked a half smile. He knew how the smuggling game was played. "Nah. Nothin' like that. Just a guy looking to pick up a few bills".

The man reached out and clapped his palm against Han's shoulder. "I like ya. You two hungry? I can get the wife to bring ya somethin' to eat".

Han paused for a second, glancing over his shoulder at Leia again. Her brown eyes were lost upon the exchange unfolding in front of her, never having witnessed such events before. Han silently shrugged in her direction as if he was telling her everything was okay, himself hardly one to pass up a free meal.

"I suppose we can stay a bit" Leia said hesitantly. She wasn't exactly sure what to do in a situation such as the one they were in, but Han seemed calm enough in their surroundings which put her slightly at ease.

Before Leia could think twice about agreeing to stay, she found herself seated next to Han amongst the group of men around the table as a dark haired woman seemed to appear out of nowhere with heaping bowls of food, baskets of bread and glasses of wine. Leia was astounded at the amount of food before them as the woman worked her way around the table. She leaned between them to set an overflowing bowl of pasta and a long serving plate piled high with various meats in front of them. As she rounded the table toward an empty chair next to the mustached man, she leaned over once more, switching off the radio and placed a kiss against her husband's cheek. Wiping her hands against her apron, she sat without a word, reaching towards a spoon sticking from a large serving dish to help herself to some of her cooking before it was devoured by the others.

"God love ya" the man remarked towards his wife before looking towards Han and Leia. "You two plannin' on gettin' married?"

Leia was mid sip of wine and almost spit her drink across the table, catching herself and swallowing the deep red liquid quickly as she tried to compose herself. Han looked equally as surprised at the man's question, his hazel eyes growing wide for a moment, any sense of his calm or collected nature from earlier immediately disappearing at the question. Neither looked at each other, not sure of what the correct answer should be from one another. The subject of marriage had never come up between them yet, let alone been questioned to them by a stranger.

The man noted the couples reaction, a deep hearty laugh shaking through him. "If she can cook for ya like this, marry her" he commented as he lifted a large piece of steak from the serving dish to his plate.

A few of the men at the table chuckled and nodded their heads in agreement as they began to eat, tucking napkins into their shirt collars, before taking large forkfuls of food from their plates.

Leia ate the rest of her meal in relative silence. She had to admit the food was very good and she was grateful for a home cooked meal after so many days of diner food and dried provisions they had in the Falcon. In any other circumstance, she would have made polite small talk with the group of men, but decided that it would be best to continue to stay quiet. She noticed that none of the men spoke of anything personal, their conversations focused on trivial topics like local events and the weather. No one bothered to ask where they were from or where they were going. None of them seemed to care that they were complete strangers. They had little suspicion of her since she was with Han, who had already proved himself to the men.

"Darling, would you mind helping me clean up?" the man's wife asked politely as she rose from her seat. Grabbing a few of the emptied plates, she looked at Leia with a certain instance in her eyes. Leia took the cue. She reached for Han's plate and stacked it upon her own as she stood from the table. He gave her a nod, a silent gesture that told her to go with the woman.

Safely tucked away in the kitchen, Leia set the stack of plates onto the counter and looked around the small space. A large stove took up most of the room, a few copper pans still sitting on top of it.

The woman leaned back against the counter and reached for a pack of cigarettes from her apron pocket. She seemed to be in no rush to attend to the dishes. Drawing a cigarette out, she pressed it against her rose colored lips before offering Leia the opened pack.

"No thank you" Leia refused politely. She hardly cared in Han's occasional habit, but never partook in it herself.

"Best let them conduct business in peace for awhile" the woman stated as she tucked the pack back into her pocket and struck a match. She held it to the end of the white paper dangling from her lips, the tobacco crackling as it caught the flame. Waving the match in the air between them, the flame died out as she discarded the matchstick and took a long drag. "I always hate listening to them figure out all the details. Boring conversations".

Leia began to catch on, but wasn't completely sure of what was happening outside of the kitchen. "What happened to playing cards?" she asked with a bit of confusion.

"That's just a test. See if your man is legit or not" the woman responded.

Leia nodded. She hardly knew exactly how smugglers and bootleggers operated, but she now understood enough that making sure that they were safe to conduct business before diving into any details was always a first priority to them. If she had learned anything from Han, it was they were ever cautious and always watching their surroundings for any sort of impending dangers.

"You are so young. What are you doing all wrapped up in this?" the woman asked casually.

Leia wasn't sure how to answer. She hardly wanted to get into any personal details of what had brought her and Han together or who they were. Pondering a few possible answers, she looked at the woman before her. Her face was weathered, long lines had been carved into her brow from life and the troubles that came along with it. Her brown eyes had deep bags underneath them, a certain tiredness in her face that would never fade no matter how many hours she slept.

"I love him" Leia replied. It was the best answer she could come up with in such a short time, but it was the most honest one she could give.

The woman's face softened as she smiled gently. "Believe it or not, my husband out there used to be quite the look'r. Handsome as hell when he was young. Old and fat now, but I'd never imagine a day without 'im".

Leia couldn't help to smile back. She briefly imagined what Han would look like as the years past. Would he go bald? Gain weight? Nevertheless, she would still love him all the same, no matter what the years would do to his appearance.

The woman took a final drag of her cigarette, stamping it out into a glass ashtray that sat next to the stove before turning to the sink and turning on the tap. Steaming water flowed into the basin as she added a bit of soap, forming white billowing clouds of foam. She began to wash the stack of dishes before glancing over to Leia, who was still awkwardly standing near the counter.

"C'mon dear. I'll wash, you dry".

Leia took a dishtowel from next to the stove and began wiping the dishes dry as the woman handed to them to her. Her mind raced with a million questions she wished to ask the woman, but she remained silent as she scrubbed. Her work worn hands disappeared into the soapy foam, working the remains of the meal from the china. This woman clearly knew what life as a bootlegger's wife was like, having stood by her husband's side over the years as he went from a legal tavern owner to an underground liquor manufacturer and smuggler after prohibition took hold.

The last of the dishes were clean and Leia passed the towel to the woman to dry her hands. Setting it back on the counter, the woman dug in her apron pocket again for another cigarette. She had no interest in going back out to join the group, having seen and heard the type of conversation being had outside the kitchen a hundred times before.

"They should be finishing up. Thank you for the help" the woman chided, alerting Leia that she didn't need to stay with her any longer in the kitchen if she did not care to.

"You're welcome. It was the least I could do for the meal" Leia politely replied.

Leia left the kitchen and made her way across the dim room. Han was leaned over the table, his back to her, engrossed in a conversation with the group of men. This was his world, not hers, the smuggler now completely in his own element. She watched him as she approached. Hanging back for a moment, she listened to the conversation. She had never seen Han work before. He was speaking to the man in a hushed tone that was firm yet had an allusion of collective control over it as he worked out the final details of the job. Han was smart and had a way with people that could not be taught from a textbook or a proper education, a balance of street smarts and economics. Leia watched as Han shook the man's hand before they turned away from each other.

Taking a step to approach her, Han leaned close to Leia and kissed her cheek softly. "He just wants me to take a small load a couple of miles" he whispered in her ear.

Leia nodded silently. She couldn't help to feel a small rush of excitement that she was about to partake in smuggling illegal liquor, even if she was merely an accomplice. She thought of Winter for a moment, what her friend would stay if she was here to see all this. _I knew you had a sense of adventure in you_ her friend's voice echoed in her mind. Winter was always one to get Leia out of her usual routine. In a way, if it wasn't for her, she wouldn't have ever met Han in the first place.

Han and Leia left the tavern and made their way back to the Falcon. Darkness had fallen over the town and the streets were quiet in comparison to when they had first arrived earlier. The low rumble of the truck cut through the silent evening as Han began to make his way back out to the country. The few streets of buildings and houses quickly gave to low rolling fields. Han was following the instructions the man had given him to the outpost in which his operation kept the liquor. It felt unfamiliar and a bit strange to be back in his own ways, but in a new surroundings. In Chicago, he never had to worry about getting lost or making a wrong turn, for the streets and back alleys were second nature to him. The rolling farmland and back roads of Oklahoma were foreign to him as they made their way through the darkness. Finally spotting the marker the man had told him to keep an eye out for, the Falcon turned off the road and into a field, bumping and rocking it's way across the ruddy dirt towards the meeting spot.

Han lept from the truck and made his way towards the waiting group of men from earlier. Leia stayed put. She knew she could be of no help in whatever needed to be done outside of the truck. As she waited patiently, she wasn't sure how long all of this was supposed to take. Turning slightly in her seat, she looked out the back window and watched Han's shadowy figure in the distance. There seemed to be some kind of underground storage bunker that stored the barrels of liquor that had been dug into field. She couldn't help to think that it was actually a clever way of hiding it. During the growing season, the crops in the field around them would easily disguise the location and any sort of access trail that was kept clear. There wasn't a house or farm for miles around them, making moving the liquor an easy process with little chance of an interruption. She looked around, the pitch black field surrounding them seemed to stretch on infinitely.

Han worked alongside two of the men. They hosted the first barrel from the hiding spot before rolling it towards the back of the Falcon. Mesmerized by the whole process, Leia continued to watch as the Falcon grew heavy as the process repeated itself as more and more barrels were loaded into the hidden compartments in the truck bed. The activity finally calmed as Han secured the hatch and turned to lean against the back bumper, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. The men who had helped him stood near him, all just as dirty and disheveled from the job as Han was.

"Go out to the trail up here" one of the men instructed to Han, his hand extended in front of him, pointing into the darkness. "About a mile down, you'll hit a farm road. Follow that another few miles, blue farmhouse on the left. Tell 'em I sent ya, Greedo should be expecting you". Han nodded as he pushed himself from the bumper and shook the man's hand.

Sitting in silence, the Falcon bumped it's way across the field. Without the headlights, Leia could hardly tell where they were going and apparently Han couldn't either. The tire hit a divot in the ground, causing Leia to shake from her seat. Grabbing hold of the dash to catch herself, she dug her fingertips into the edge of the dash before pushing herself back into her seat. Han accelerated, the truck lurching forward as it left the ruddy field and turned onto the gravel road. Cutting the headlights on, in the shadows, Leia could finally see Han. His expression was scowled, his eyes narrowed and his lips pressed tightly together. He seemed tense, silent and focused.

"So now what?" Leia asked inquisitively as the Falcon continued to speed along the gravel road, leaving a cloud of dust behind them.

"We drop this off and get the hell out of here" Han firmly replied.

The farm house came into view, just as the man in the field had said. Leia took a deep breath as Han shut the engine off. A tall, lanky man crossed the grass, approaching them. He was alone, which Leia found strange. All of the other bootleggers they had come across so far were in groups. The darkness made it difficult for Leia to find any distinguishing features about the man, other than his clothing. He wore a green turtleneck sweater with a shabby brownish orange colored vest with cargo pockets on the front of it, which struck her as an odd ensemble. She watched as Han and the man exchanged a few words before Han rounded the back of the truck and opened the cargo hold.

Han made quick work of unloading the Falcon, more than ready to get rid of the hooch and collect his payment.

"There's only twelve here. I was told there was going to be fourteen" Greedo remarked, his long fingers tapping against the top of a barrel. His large eyes met Han's, staring him down.

Han took a step back and threw his hands up at his sides. "Hey, I'm just the delivery guy here".

"You sure you ain't hiding anything, son. I don't know who you are or how you operate, but I think you might be keeping a couple for yourself".

"Take that up with them. I got nothin' else".

Greedo scoffed. "Lemme check for myself".

"What? My word isn't good enough for you? I ain't got room for anything more than what I brought you right here" Han retorted. He didn't like the idea of some stranger poking around the Falcon, even more so that Leia was waiting for him inside of the truck.

"No, it's not. I don't know you" Greedo sneered back. Taking a long look at Han, he was clearly displeased, as he began reaching into his vest. A flash of silver glimmered in the moonlight as Greedo withdrew a pistol from an interior pocket and pointed it towards Han. Leia watched in horror from the Falcon, but realized that Han's right hand was resting against his back. His fingers were working at the back of the waistband of his pants, slowly withdrawing a hidden gun of his own from beneath the fabric of his untucked shirt.

"I've got no time for smugglers who try and short me" Greedo warned. "If you just give up the hooch, I might forget all of this".

"For the last time, I'm telling ya, this is all I've got" Han said, his words coming easily for someone with a weapon pointed directly at him. His fingers were still on his own weapon behind his back.

In a flash, Han had his weapon pointed back at the man. The two were at a momentary standstill, mere yards from each other, both with a full loaded gun pointed at one another, fingers hovering over triggers.

"I'm giving you one more chance. Give up the rest of the load" Greedo warned.

"I ain't got any more" Han hissed back.

Han felt the bullet skim past him, the metal radiating a burning heat as it buzzed past his body. Greedo's shot had missed him, but with little room to spare. Without a second thought, Han pulled the trigger on his own gun. The second gunshot echoed through the night. Greedo screamed out in pain as he grabbed his arm. No longer able to grasp his weapon, it fell to the ground between them as deep scarlet blood began to seep from the wound and into the sleeve of his sweater. Dropping to his knees in the dirt, Greedo's eyes were full of rage as he sucked in a breath, hissing through his teeth as Han stepped towards him.

"Where's the money?" Han ordered to the man. His figure towered over Greedo. Han's finger still hovered over the trigger of his gun, despite it resting in his hand at his side.

"Fuck you" Greedo spat back at him.

Han didn't bother to ask again, raising his boot from the ground and tapping it against the side pocket of Greedo's vest. He could feel a bundle of money and quickly reached down to withdraw his payment from the pocket, his eyes never leaving Greedo's. Still holding his wounded arm, Greedo lashed his hand towards Han in attempt to grab hold of him, but the smuggler was too quick for him. The money was already in Han's fist as he ran back towards the Falcon.

"Get back here, you son of a bitch!" Greedo screamed after Han. He tried to get up. His feet slipped in the dirt causing him to stumble and fall back to the ground. Having used both hands to catch himself, his screams of pain cut through the night.

Diving into the truck, Han rammed the keys into the ignition and slammed his foot against the accelerator. The Falcon peeled out, the tires grinding against the gravel as the truck sped off into the darkness.

"What the fuck, Han!" Leia screamed. She rarely swore, but she couldn't think of any other way to convey how she was feeling at the moment. Her breath came to her in short, ragged waves, her chest rising and falling quickly. She felt on the verge on panic, hardly able to comprehend everything that had just happened. Her mind was racing in disbelief, anger, worry, fear...a million different things at once.

"Sorry, that was a bit of a mess" Han muttered.

Leia glanced over at him, her lips parted as if she was about to speak, but she could not find any words. She wanted to scream at him again but she found that no sound came out when she tried, as if her mind and body had disconnected themselves from one another.

As Han continued to drive, he kept one hand on the steering wheel. He leaned over across Leia. She sat frozen as she felt the weight of his body against hers as he pulled the glove compartment open and shoved his gun deep into mess of papers. _No wonder he threw a fit when I opened that without asking_ she thought. Han leaned back in his seat, seemingly unaffected on what had happened back at the farmhouse as he continued to drive off into the night.

Miles had past and neither Han nor Leia had said anything to one another. Leia could still feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her fingers trembled in her lap, no matter how much she tried to steady them, they would not go still.

"Did you really short that guy?" Leia asked quietly. Her voice was firm, it was more a demand for answers than a question to Han.

"No. I'm a smuggler, not a thief. I gave him everything they gave me" Han answered truthfully.

Leia nodded silently, but she was still shaken. She looked back at Han, his eyes back on the road in front of them. She could hardly make sense of why Han seemed so unaffected about the events that had taken place.

"Are you okay?"

"Trust me, sweetheart, I didn't think this was all going to go to hell tonight" Han replied, still focused out into the darkness. It wasn't the first time he had stared down the barrel of a gun. While it was never a position he enjoyed finding himself in, let alone one he found any sort of pleasure getting himself out of. He knew his shot could have been deadly if he chose it to be, but he never wished to take a life. Wounding Greedo was enough to give him the time to escape.

"What if he goes to the police? He saw us, he saw the Falcon!" Leia's voice was anxious as she spoke.

"He's not gonna go to the cops. He'd have to rat himself out in order to tell them about us. Cops around here are probably paid off anyways, money shuts a lot of mouths".

Han let his right hand go from the steering wheel and reached over to take one of Leia's hands in his. Her fingers trembled as he wrapped his through hers.

"Everything is going to be okay, I promise". He gave her hand a tight squeeze of reassurance.

 _Why does his touch always calm me down?_ she thought as she felt her fingers grow still. Tears began to well in her eyes as she tried to hold them back. She tried to assure herself that Han was right. They were speeding away from everything that had happened, yet another memory left to fade in the dust behind them.

Han realized that he had to think of both of them now, not only himself or money. If anything of the night had affected him, it was the fact that she was there, and in danger along with him, a position he never wanted either of them to be in ever again.

"I promise, no more smuggling after tonight".

"You're promising me to go legit?" She asked skeptically, half believing that he was going to completely give up the only way of life he'd ever known for her, if it was even possible for him to do such a thing.

"Try my best. Unless push comes to shove and we need the money".

"Han" Leia warned quietly.

"I'll just gamble for it" Han added, a slight smile forming at the edge of his mouth. It was a poor attempt to lighten the mood, but it was working.

"Han!" She couldn't hold back a tear from rolling down cheek, yet she found herself beginning to smile. She no longer was scared of what the future held. They were in this together, a commitment to each other.

Han squeezed her hand again. "I love you. I don't want to you have to worry about me".

"I love you too" she replied. With her free hand, she wiped away the tear that had fallen from her cheek.

 _Everything is going to be alright._

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_

 _1\. Babe Ruth would go on to be the first player in the major league to hit 500 home runs in the 1929 baseball season. The Chicago White Sox would finish second to last in the American League with a record of 59-93. Sorry Han, good thing you didn't bet money on them._

 _2\. In a galaxy far, far away, Han shot first. On earth, due to the legality of the situation, I did have to change that. They've got enough problems going on._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chicago, March 1929.**

Bail sat back in his office chair. His desk in front of him was covered in papers, messy and unorganized as his current thoughts. He rubbed his temples, trying to rid himself of the dull headache that had been a constant annoyance to him for weeks. Since Leia's disappearance, the Mayor had thrown himself into his work. Breha tried to look after him, checking on him throughout the day, bringing him meals that she often found hours later untouched and cold. She urged him to try to sleep at night, to no avail as the days and weeks past. Many around the family spoke in hushed whispers that Bail had developed his own personal vendetta against every smuggler in the city, not willing to rest until each and every bootlegger in Chicago was behind bars.

The St. Valentine's Day massacre, as the papers had dubbed it, wrote story after story of what had happened between the rival bootlegging gangs had only made matters worse. Chief Oberholtzer was in charge of the investigation, which had only gone in circles. Suspects were questioned, possible leads were followed, but nothing came of it. No one talked and any promising leads quickly grew cold. Much was the same in finding any trace of Leia's whereabouts. Other than the accounts from the altercation between Lando and Han at the cafe where Leia was last seen and a plate number to the Falcon, the chief had nothing else to lead him to the mayor's daughter or the wanted smuggler.

In attempts to relieve himself of his headache, Bail pushed back his chair and made his way from his office, hoping that if he took a few aspirin and got himself a drink of water, the throbbing pain would somehow magically subside. As he walked down the upstairs hallway of his home, he paused outside of his daughter's room. He had not entered the bedroom since the night Leia failed to return home. Turning the door knob, he stepped into the room and flipped on the light switch. Her room was just as it had been, as if it was frozen in time. The mysterious sweater still lay on the floor from when he had discarded it there in a fit of anger weeks ago. Bending down, he picked up the clothing and ran his fingers over the knitting. It was clearly homemade for it's owner by someone. The yarn was roughly knotted at the seams and the article of clothing had clearly been well worn long before it ever came into Leia's possession.

Bail's heart ached for his daughter as he looked around her room. He had so many memories within the bedroom: reading Leia bedtime stories when she was young, watching the city out of the window with her as they sat together on the window seat. He had to remind himself that she was no longer the little girl he thought of her as. Traces of that were about the room: the stack of records on the table next to her gramophone player that she would often blast jazz music from that would distract him from his work as the songs floated down the hallway, the few pairs of high heeled shoes that lay struewn about the carpet. His daughter was a young woman now, whether he liked it or not.

Bail turned, sweater still in his hands, to leave the bedroom. He couldn't be in the space any longer, the room and it's contents only made his heart ache worse. Deciding to return to his office, he hoped lose himself in his work again. It was the only comfort he had, the only thing that could distract him enough to forget about the troubles his daughter might be in, wherever in the world she might be at.

* * *

Back in his office, Bail stooped down near the fireplace. Striking a match, he held it to the stack of logs in the hearth, waiting for the flame to catch. Despite the calendar nearing spring, Chicago was still gripped in cold. The snow had begun to melt outside, exposing patches of grass here and there, but the real warmth of spring was still far off. The logs began to glow and crackle as the fire grew stronger, adding warmth the room. Satisfied, Bail made his way to his desk and tossed the sweater to a far corner, focusing his attentions to his work. He began to engross himself in business when a sharp knock at the door interrupted him.

"Come in" Bail said, slightly annoyed that someone was bothering him. He was in no mood to be disturbed, the ache in his temples reminding him that he never did make it downstairs for any aspirin to try and quell the pain. Whoever was at the door, he knew it was someone close to the family for either Breha or a maid had allowed the visitor into his home.

Chief Oberholtzer shut the office door behind him before making his way to the leather chair that sat in front of Bail's desk. Shrugging his coat from his shoulders, the Chief lay his woolen jacket across the arm of the chair before taking a seat.

"Good afternoon" the chief said warmly "I called your office and they told me you had already headed home for the day".

"Indeed. What brings you here, Chief?"

"I wanted to discuss some things with you. As you know, we haven't had any new leads on Leia's disappearance and I'm afraid that I haven't been able to find anything else to go off of".

Bail nodded. He was hardly in the mood to discuss his daughter at the moment, but he knew the Chief had his best interests in mind. It had only added to his worry that the days continued to pass without the return of Leia or any new information about her whereabouts.

Pushing a few papers aside, Bail reached for a plain folder and opened it in front of him. It contained all of the details of Leia's case. Bail thumbed through the papers until he found a list of who the Chief had questioned so far. It was not a long list, just a few lines of scribbled names with few details about them. Bail sighed, the Chief was right in the fact that they were working with very little information.

"Have you found anyone else to talk to?" Bail asked.

"No. As you know, I questioned the woman who Solo rented a room from the night Leia went missing. She didn't know much about him. Typical, if I do say so myself. Smugglers aren't exactly the type to share personal information about themselves to everyone they meet".

"Have you questioned her again? Maybe Solo has made contact with her" Bail suggested.

"Doubtful. I don't see why he would run a risk of getting caught to contact to his landlord".

Bail sighed a long sigh, his shoulders falling slightly at the Chief's statement.

The chief could tell the mayor was disappointed. "Bail, I'm doing everything I can to find Leia. I've put an APB with all the information we have to law enforcement in every state around Illinois".

"You honestly think they are still in the Midwest?" Bail questioned, slightly surprised that the chief thought that they had stayed relatively close to Chicago.

"The Hutts have contacts and liquor manufacturers in Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana. Solo has known ties to the gang. He's got to have a source of income. I doubt he'd leave that all behind. Seems like it's the only thing he knows how to do for a living".

"What about this "Chewie" Bacca fellow?" Bail asked, scanning the names on the paper again.

"Stayed tight lipped about the Valentine's Day massacre till the end. We asked him from every angle about what happened and if he knew anything about Solo or Leia and he gave up nothing".

Bail put his elbows against the edge of his desk, letting his head fall into his fingers as he pressed his fingertips into his forehead, working them in small circles. He was beyond frustrated, not only with Leia's disappearance, but with the fact it seemed that every angle they had tried to gain information led to nothing.

Looking up, Bail glanced across his desk, his gaze falling across Han's sweater. The crudely knitted cardigan taunted him, mocked the fact that his daughter was with smuggler scum somewhere out there in the world and absolutely no one seemed to want to help get her home. His stomach churned, an anger rising within him the longer he looked at the beige and gray wool. Grabbing at the item, he yanked the sweater into his hand as he rose from his seat. Turning from his desk, he threw the sweater across the room into the fireplace in a fit of rage. The sweater landed squarely in the center of the burning logs, the wool quickly caught fire, engulfing the knitting in bright orange and yellow flames.

"Bail! What the hell are you doing?" the chief yelled out as he lept up from his chair. "What was that?" he asked as he pointed to the incinerated article of clothing.

Bail shook his head, letting his arm he had used to chuck the clothing across the room and into the hearth fall back to his side.

"Breha found it under Leia's bed the night she disappeared" Bail said, an obvious displeasure of the thought of how it might have ended up there in his voice.

"That could be considered evidence!" the chief yelped.

"I couldn't have that... _thing_... in my house anymore" Bail said as he stepped back to his desk chair, sinking back into high backed leather.

The chief nodded. He was a father himself. As much as he tried to understand Bail's frustrations and pain of Leia's disappearance, he couldn't fully understand what it was like to have a child gone.

The two remained in silence for a few minutes. Bail's gaze was lost in the fire as he watched the flames crackle and dance around the hearth. The sweater had quickly been reduced to ashes, any trace of it burned to bits.

"Have you spoke to Winter?" Bail asked, his mind suddenly working quickly, wondering why neither of them had thought of her earlier.

"Her parents were at a dinner party along with her last weekend. I only had the chance to say hello before being pulled into another conversation".

"No" Bail asserted, his hand waving at the police chief to quiet him. "Officially questioned Winter. She was always close friends with Leia, ever since they were children. If anyone might know any secrets about Leia's life, it would be her".

Chief Oberholtzer pondered Bail's suggestion. He had never thought to question Winter, figuring if she had any information she would have come to him immediately. It might be another idea that led nowhere, but it was more than what he had to work on now.

* * *

After the chief placed a call, Winter found herself sitting in Bail's office. In all the years she had been friends with Leia and her family, she could only remember a handful times that she had ever been in Bail's office. It felt strange to her that she was in such an unfamiliar place in Leia's home, even stranger that her friend was not there alongside her. Any time she had been in the office before, it was usually because Leia and her had been caught causing some kind of trouble. She felt very much the same way as she did as a child now, waiting to be scolded for whatever mischief they had managed to get caught in. The chief sat in a low chair across from her and Bail stood a few feet behind him with his arms crossed in front of his chest and a stony expression on his face.

"Winter, you are being questioned about any information you may have in the disappearance of Leia" the chief began in an official sounding voice.

He was speaking in a much more serious tone than Winter had ever heard him speak in before. To her, Chief Oberholtzer was always a family friend to both her parents and the Organas, not a police chief. It felt odd for him to be questioning her in such a stern manner, especially with Bail looking on, watching her every move.

"Do you understand?" the chief asked as he opened a pad of paper and lay it against his lap.

"Yes" Winter replied.

"Do you know anything about where Leia was the day she failed to return home?"

"I saw her that morning. At school. She had classes all day" Winter easily recalled the events of the frigid winter day.

"Do you know if she went anywhere between classes?"

"Not that I know of. I had classes of my own to attend to on the opposite side of campus".

The chief nodded, his pen moving across the paper as he jotted down Winter's responses to his questions. The tip of the fountain pen scratched against the paper as he finished his notes before looking back up at her.

"Had Leia ever mentioned anyone by the name of Han Solo to you before?"

Winter looked at the chief. She could feel her throat go dry at the mention of Han's name. Crossing her legs, she leaned back in her chair and swallowed slowly, trying to rid herself of the lump that had formed in her throat. She blinked slowly, closing her eyes for a moment, silently collecting herself.

"Yes" Winter affirmed.

Both the chief and Bail instantly looked shocked at Winter's answer. Bail took a step forward, his arms uncrossing from his body.

"Winter! Why did you never tell me this before?" Bail exclaimed.

"You never asked".

"I shouldn't have to ask you to tell me that my daughter has been around a dangerous man!"

Winter scoffed at Bail's accusation of Han. "He is not a dangerous man".

"I beg to differ" the chief cut in. "I don't know how Han Solo might have portrayed himself to you or Leia, but he is a wanted criminal, a low life smuggler with a rap sheet that's a mile long!"

"How in the hell did Leia even end up associating with this man? She has always been a good girl, always kept herself in decent company!" Bail cut in. He wasn't speaking to anyone directly, barely able to contain himself. The thought of his daughter with a criminal made his stomach churn and his face flush with anger ten times more than just the cardigan had.

"Bail, please" the chief turned in his seat and looked up at the mayor. "We are trying to figure all this out".

"I'm her father, I have a right to be angry with all this" Bail shot back.

"I understand. Just let me continue with the questioning" the chief calmly said.

Bail took a deep breath and stepped back, crossing his arms once again. He knew that Chief Oberholtzer was doing his job and he needed to allow him to continue to do so if they hoped to find out any more answers about Leia's whereabouts.

Turning back to Winter, the Chief, picked up his pen once again as he began his next question. "Do you believe that Leia left Chicago on her own accord?"

"Absolutely" Winter replied. She knew that Bail and the chief had the idea in both of their heads that Leia was some damsel in distress, kidnapped and held against her will by a criminal. Winter was disgusted by the idea, not only because she knew the truth about Han and Leia's relationship, but the fact that Leia could more than hold her own, something her father and the chief failed to realize about her in the midst of her disappearance.

"Have you had any contact with either of them?"

"No" Winter lied flawlessly, not even a waver to her voice. She wasn't about to give up any more information. Leia's friendship and trust in her was at stake and she had promised to hold her friend's secrets. While she did not know Han well, she would protect him and his freedom too. She considered him a friend in the same matter she withheld Leia in.

"Leia never mentioned that she was planning on running off with Han Solo to you? What was their relationship before their disappearance?" The chief continued to rapidly ask questions, desperate to find answers to each of them. It was the closest thing to a lead in weeks of frustration, almost desperate that he could possibly break the case back open again. "How did Leia meet Han Solo? Did he use an alias or his real name at first? Did Leia know of his associations to criminal gangs or the fact he was involved in smuggling illegal liquor?"

"Chief, please stop. I don't know the answers to any of those questions" Winter firmly stated. She pushed her blonde hair away from her face, flicking the golden strands over her shoulder. It was not her place to tell why or how Leia and Han came together, nor did she wish to share the fact Leia and her had attended the party at the speakeasy.

The chief's face fell, any optimism he once had that he was getting somewhere evaporating as quickly as it had come on.

"Nothing?" he asked desperately.

Winter thought for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she leaned slightly forward in her seat. She folded her hands and rested them against the top of her knee. She looked at Bail and then back at the chief.

"I do know one thing" she began.

The chief's eyes lit up for a moment, the tip of his pen hovering over the paper in anticipation of what Winter was about to say, not wanting to miss noting anything.

"Han may not look like a gentleman according to your official documents on him, but he deeply loves and cares about Leia".

Winter uncrossed her legs and stood from her chair. While not formally dismissed from the questioning, she was taking it upon herself to end it. Both Bail and the chief looked absolutely shocked at her statement. She almost could swear that both of their jaws hung agape as she stepped away from the two men and crossed the office towards the door. As she reached for the handle, she paused for a second. She turned back to face Bail and the Chief, looking directly at both of them.

"And Leia thoroughly loves him back just as much" she added firmly before turning back around, leaving the men in astonishment.

Chief Oberholtzer broke the stunned silence in the room after Winter's departure between them. "This still does not change the fact that Han Solo is still a wanted man. He was warrants for distribution and transportation of illegal liquor".

"Peter, stop. I need some time. I will phone you in the morning" Bail said, dropping any title the chief held, addressing him on a personal level, friend to friend.

Slightly taken aback, the Chief muttered "Of course" as he tried to make sense of everything that had just happened. He capped his fountain pen and tucked it into the pad of paper, folding it closed before pulling his heavy outer coat back over his lanky frame. He left the mayor alone without another word as he showed himself out of the office.

Sitting alone in his office, the room was silent aside from the occasional crackle or snap from the burning logs in the fireplace. Winter's words ran through Bail's mind over and over again. Bail was exhausted. The weeks of sleepless nights and the countless hours he had thrown himself into work and chasing after any possibility of finding Leia finally crashing down on him as he rose from his chair. He missed his family, he missed his wife. He had ignored her in attempts to cope with things on his own, only now realizing the error of his ways. They needed to be together in this, not withdrawn from one another.

Making his way downstairs to the dining room, Bail found his wife sitting at the table alone, eating her dinner in silence. He sat down at the table and looked across at her. She looked every bit as tired as he felt. Deep, dark circles shadowed beneath her eyes. Leia's disappearance had not been any kinder to her than it had been to Bail. Her frame had grown leaner and her cheeks had sunken slightly. Both Organas had seemed to age years in a few short weeks.

"You were right" Bail quietly said towards Breha.

Breha set her fork down and picked her head up to look at her husband. Their words had been few and far between since Leia's disappearance. Her husband's presence at the dinner table was even sparser. She was surprised to see him outside of his office, actually making an effort to speak to her about their daughter.

"What do you mean?" she asked inquisitively, wondering if the Chief's visit had meant a break in the case, something...anything that might be a clue to where Leia was.

"Leia wasn't kidnapped. She's in love".

Breha wasn't quite sure how to respond. She had been distraught in her own ways since the night Leia had failed to come home, but never thought Leia was in any serious danger in the way Bail had. The fact her daughter had been carrying on a secret relationship was her first suspicion upon the discovery of Han's sweater in her daughter's room. While she was still wary of the strange man based on the information her husband had shared about him from his records, Breha knew that Leia was strong and smart.

A maid quietly entered the room with a warmed plate of food and set it in front of the mayor without a word. Bail's stomach felt hollow and empty as he took a small bite of the food before setting his utensil back down onto his plate. He was still uneasy with Winter's words, her voice still ringing in his ears as he tried to make sense of everything.

"This is not what I imagined for Leia. Falling in love with a smuggler and running away? Why couldn't she could have come to me? I don't even know this man she's taken up with, that's the part that hurts me the most".

Breha sighed. "Bail, she was probably terrified of your reaction. She couldn't just bring him over to have coffee with us. Your entire political career has been based on locking up and throwing away the key on his kind".

"I'm trying to understand what she was thinking to just disappear with him. It was easier to process when I thought she had somehow been coerced into it".

Breha looked surprised at Bail's words. Her expression hardened slightly, wondering if her husband had somehow forgotten completely who Leia even was. "Did you really believe that Leia could have been swayed into running off? You know how stubborn and steadfast she is against anything she doesn't wish to do on her own free will".

Breha was right, Bail thought to himself. Leia had always stood up against anything she did not agree with, a sharp mind paired with an even sharper way with words would never let her fall victim to anyone's coercion. His mind had been so clouded. He was so desperate to find answers to the questions he had, his thoughts only confused and twisted further by sleepless nights and countless worry and work filled days.

"How do we get our daughter back then?" Bail asked quietly.

"I don't know" Breha answered, wishing she could give her husband something to ease his mind with. She was at just as much of a lost of what would bring Leia home, especially if her heart belonged to a wanted man who could never return to Chicago without repercussions.

Bail pushed back his chair and rounded the table to his wife who stood from her own chair. Stepping towards her husband, Bail wrapped his arms around Breha holding her close to him.

"I don't know either" Bail said.

Breha lifted her head from against her husband's shirt. Her eyes were heavy with tears, ones that she had refused to allow herself to cry, but no longer could hold back. "You can't blame yourself, Bail. It will only drive you insane if you keep going over and over the what ifs of the situation".

Running his thumb across Breha's cheek, Bail wiped away a tear that had escaped and rolled down his wife's cheek. "I keep thinking about if this Solo guy is keeping Leia safe. If she's been in any trouble along with him. If she is happy where ever they might be. I just can't understand how a smuggler..." Bail paused for a moment "...a wanted criminal... can care about someone other than themselves. Winter said that he loves her".

Breha sniffed her nose and cleared her throat. "And Leia loves him". She closed her eyes for a moment while taking a deep breath. "He might be certain things on record, but that doesn't mean he is not capable of being selfless".

Bail remained in silence for a moment, musing over his wife's comment. Her words went against everything he had every thought or believed about the bootleggers and criminals that plagued his city. Men who had corrupted and spilled blood on the streets, ones who seemed to love nothing other than the money they made. He couldn't fathom a man who had participated in all of that could leave the only life he had known behind for his daughter.

"I still want her back home" Bail said, sadness hanging in his voice.

"I do too" Breha replied. "I do too".


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Apologizes for the serious lack of updates on this. I sort of lost focus and motivation on the story and started working on other things and before I knew it, it had been months since I've even thought about it. There's a bit of a time jump here (two months roughly). I didn't feel it was really necessary to have them on the road any longer then they have been already. So here we go again..._

 _ **May 1929, California.**_

* * *

Leia had pictured California to be like what she had seen in the movies or read about in stories. Palm trees and deep blue ocean waves lapping gently against a sandy beach, not the endless expanse of scrub brush and flat desert in which they had found themselves in. The town wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for the salt mine and the railroad that serviced it. It had sprung up out of the nothingness, much like the dozens of other towns that dotted the desert. Early settlers had flocked to the area, staking claim wherever the land provided a resource to get rich off of, whether it be gold, salt or borax. When Han declared that this was their destination, Leia had looked at him across the Falcon as if he had gone mad. But it offered them exactly what they had come across the country for. Steady industry meant work and it was miles from any major cities, providing them a place to easily slip into a new life without raising any suspicions of who they were or where they had come from.

They rented a small apartment along the dirt road that cut through main portion of town, paying a month's worth of rent upfront, using most of the money they had leftover from their journey westward. Han promised Leia that it was only temporary. _We'll get out of here soon enough. I'll get you a house right by the ocean one day_ he'd promised to her as they unloaded the Falcon into their new home.

The second floor apartment was furnished with the basic necessities. A small oak table sat in the middle of a kitchen to one side of the front door, a sitting area with a few faded blue armchairs and an end table to the other. A bedroom and bathroom were tucked away behind another door at the back of the apartment. Neither could complain. It was clean, reasonably priced and enough space for the two of them.

Leia set her bag on the mattress, unzipping it to begin unpacking. She had lived out of the bag for so long it almost felt strange to be putting away the few belongings she had with her knowing that the next morning, they wouldn't be getting back into the Falcon to continue onto the next destination. This was it. No more miles to travel or states to pass through.

"I'm gonna head out and see about finding work" Han said as he set a crate of items he had gathered from the Falcon down onto the mattress.

"We just got here".

"I know. And if I don't get some money coming in soon, we ain't staying long" Han chuckled. Leaning over his shoulder, he gave Leia a kiss against her cheek.

The Falcon bumped along the gravel road that lead out to the rail yard on the outskirts of town near the mine. A small outcropping of low buildings grew nearer, surrounded by a web of train tracks that seemed to splinter off into the desert in every direction. Throwing the truck into park and cutting the engine, Han stepped out and began crossing the dusty ground towards the yardmasters office. It was nothing more than a small tin roofed building that looked as though one strong gust of wind might knock it over. Paint chipped and peeled from the metal sign on the door that read _Southern Pacific Railroad_. Han pulled open the door, the rusted hinges squeaking loudly as he stepped inside the building, letting the door close behind him. His eyes took a moment to adjust from the bright sun outside as a voice greeted him.

"How can I help you today, son?" a weathered middle aged man asked from behind a wooden desk. The man leaned forward in his seat, the metal of the chair creaking along with his movements as he set aside the paperwork he had been engrossed in before Han's arrival.

"Looking for a job" Han replied as he removed his hat. He held his tattered newsboy cap in his hands, his thumb nervously running along the inner stitching. It had been a long time since he had worked legitimately and he didn't exactly have a backup plan. There was always the salt mine, but the pay was less and the work was twice as dangerous, a risk he wasn't sure was worth taking.

"You got any work experience?" the man asked gruffly, looking Han up and down. He'd seen men like Han before. Guy comes out California hoping to make a better life for himself. Maybe he has a wife or kids and needs the money to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. More often than not, the men that came into his office looking for work were ones that were running from whatever they had chasing them back home. He didn't care to hear the stories or reasons behind why they came. Looking at Han, he could tell he fell into the latter category. Trying to escape something, whatever it might be.

"Carpentry and mechanical mostly" Han replied. "But I'm a quick study".

"Look. I need men who are willing to put in a hard day's work and get things done. It ain't a pretty job and you ain't about to get rich, but you'll earn a decent living out here. Think you can manage that?"

"Yes, sir" Han said politely, hoping his midwestern manners would be enough get him hired without any more questions. He couldn't add that he knew all about hopping on and off boxcars or how him and Chewie had freight train schedules memorized back in Chicago because Jabba had hidden shipments coming in on them.

The man rested his elbows against the edge of the desk and folded his hands together as he mulled things over. He needed more men to lay track. The mine was producing more than the railroad could ship out and an extra pair of hands on his crew would help get the necessary secondary lines up and running. Even as scruffy looking as Han was, he could tell that he wasn't the type of guy that was looking to screw him over.

Looking Han in the eyes, the man came to his decision. "I pay 15 dollars a week, cutting a check every two. You show up on time and don't give me any trouble, you'll do just fine" he said sternly.

"Thank you, sir".

Replacing his cap, Han made his way out of the building quietly. As soon as he hopped into the Falcon, he let out a loud whoop of excitement he'd been containing since the man offered him the job. He wasn't excited about the work, knowing it would be hard labor under the hot sun, but the fact he'd secured an income elated him. It seemed that Solo luck was back on his side.

* * *

Leia found herself falling into a new routine over the course of the next week. It was one of simple domesticity that she hadn't ever pictured for her and Han. She rose early in the morning with him, waking as the first light of dawn crept into the apartment to boil water for coffee and pack the tin lunch box Han took with him to work. She watched as Han rounded the corner from the bathroom, hair still damp from the shower, as he buttoned the final buttons up on his light blue work shirt. Pulling out a chair from the small table in the kitchen, he gave Leia a smile as she set a mug of coffee down in front of him along with a plate of toast. Sitting down across from him, she looked across the table as he bent down to finish tying the laces on his heavy steel toed boots. He looked like any other man, getting ready for a day of work. Not a former smuggler, or a bootlegger or a someone on the run from the law.

"Did you think that'd we actually make it out here?" Leia asked as Han sat up and reached for his coffee, taking a long sip as he looked across the rim of the mug at her.

"Never had a doubt" Han replied with a confident tone in his voice.

"Really? Never once you thought we'd get caught?"

"Sweetheart, you know I don't think like that". He drained the remaining coffee from his mug and set it back down onto the table before reaching for the toast. He never left enough time in the morning to actually eat, instead taking whatever Leia had prepared with him to quickly wolf down in the Falcon as he made his way out to the train yard. Leaning forward, he placed a light kiss on Leia's forehead. "If I thought that way, I don't think we'd be sitting here right now".

Leia gave him a gentle smile as Han rose from his seat. Collecting the tin lunch box and thermos, he stepped back towards Leia.

"See ya tonight. Love you".

"I love you too" she replied, giving him another quick kiss before he departed to work. Taking another sip of her coffee, she couldn't help but to feel happy that things seemed to be working in their favor. It was the second Friday after Han had begun working for the railroad and the first time he would be bringing home a legitimate paycheck. She had a few dollars to spare in the meantime, and began mulling over ideas of how they could celebrate later. _A nice dinner first_ , she contemplated to herself, _and then some after dinner activities together hopefully_. Their bedroom had already been christened, mere hours after they had moved into the apartment, but it never hurt to rechristen it a fourth or fifth...or whichever number of times again.

* * *

The general store was owned by the mining company, as was almost every other business in town, but it was the only option for any goods for miles. Leia stepped into the store, the bell above the door chiming alerting the shopkeeper to her presence. He nodded a friendly greeting to her as she made her way towards the rows of produce crates that were stacked along the wall. A wide variety of citrus fruits were displayed, practically overflowing from the crates they were stacked neatly in. She reached for an orange, squeezing it gently to test it's ripeness before placing in the small basket she used for shopping that dangled from the crook of her elbow. Two women rounded the end of the crates, both stopping to examining a display of melons as they chatted to one another. Leia continued selecting a few more oranges as the women continued. She couldn't help but to listen in on their conversation.

"You know, I heard another one of those liquor dens opened up out past the mine".

"That makes more of them then taverns we had before they outlawed liquor. At least with the bars, we had good men running them. Not these thugs that come in from gods knows where".

"It's only a matter of time before something happens down at one of those joints. Look at the papers, all those stories coming out of Chicago about mobsters going after each other in the streets. You'd think the mayor would get some control over his own city".

Leia glanced at the woman before averting her eyes back down to the produce. Tightening the grip on the orange in her hand, her fingernails broke the flesh of the fruit causing juice to trickle down her arm. She hadn't intended to squeeze so hard, but the women's words rang in her ears and her blood boiled. As she placed the damaged fruit back in the crate, hoping no one would notice that it was no longer in pristine condition, she continued on to another aisle. She wished she could march up to the women and tell them that her father wasn't just letting all of this happen, that he worked day and night to try and make his city peaceful again. That not every bootlegger was some scum of the earth that should be tossed away, many were just trying to earn a living like everyone else. _How dare they say something on an issue they knew so little about, aside from what some newspaper had told them_ she thought to herself as she continued down the aisle to resume her shopping.

As she had filled her basket around the store, she concluded there was no reason to get upset over what two gossiping women said and she would not let it ruin her day. There was nothing she could do or say about it anyways, her anger fading as she set her items onto the counter. The shopkeeper began tallying up her purchase.

"That'll be two dollars and twenty five cents" the man said as he arranged the last few goods back into the basket.

"How much for that book?" Leia asked, pointing to a well worn novel on a shelf behind the counter. Judging by it's condition, she figured it would only cost a few cents and she had enough left over after groceries to buy herself something.

The shopkeeper looked over his shoulder to where Leia was pointing. Reaching for the book, he pulled it from the shelf and placed it on the counter.

"No charge, miss. All these books here are meant to be lent out. We don't have a library in town, so I started my own back here".

"That's very nice of you" Leia replied with a smile as she added the book to her basket and paid the shopkeeper for her groceries. Making her way from the store, she stepped out into the afternoon sun, content that she had a few hours to read before Han returned home.

* * *

Leia pulled the curtains closed over the window. The sun had set and the cool darkness of night had settled over the town. She returned to the armchair where she had been sitting. Letting out a long sigh, she looked towards the apartment door for what might have been the thousandth time. It was unlike Han to not return home immediately after work. She had been looking forward to his return all afternoon. She cooked dinner at the normal time, waiting for the familiar stomp of his work boots as he made his way up to the apartment. Instead, the hallway remained silent, his plate growing cold on the table before she began to pick at it. She hardly had an appetite, but they couldn't afford to let food go to waste. She forced herself to at least eat the bit of pork chop glazed in orange sauce she had prepared, tossing the rest in the trash before returning to the living room.

Striking a match, she lit the oil lantern on the table besides her, letting the wick catch fire before replacing the glass hurricane. The room filled with a warm glow as she settled into the armchair to resume reading the book she had gotten earlier. Trying to push the worry from her mind of where Han possibly could be, she focused on the print. She had missed reading, especially novels like the one she was currently engrossed in. All of her reading before leaving Chicago had been school related, dryly written textbook chapters or educational publications that were required for her courses. She forgot how much she enjoyed letting herself get lost in a fictional story of adventures in far away lands. Stories that she didn't have to take notes on or prepare for a test on the material.

The sound of heavy work boots making their way up the creaky stairs startled her awake. She had dozed off in the chair, the book still open laying across her lap. As the front door opened, Han stumbled in, bracing himself against the door frame for a second before kicking the door closed behind him with his foot. His work shirt was covered in dust, wrinkled and unbuttoned at the collar. She could smell the whiskey on him from across the room.

"Hey sweetheart" Han said, his words slurring slightly as he made his way towards Leia, not caring he was leaving a trail of dirt across the floor with each step.

"You're drunk" she said flatly, shifting her weight in the armchair to avoid the kiss he was trying to place against her cheek.

Stepping back, Han swayed a little as Leia rose from the chair and stepped towards him. Crossing her arms, she pinned him with a glare that was as cold as the winter wind they had left behind in Chicago.

"So I had a few drinks to celebrate" he said nonchalantly before letting out a chuckle.

Leia watched as gave her a lopsided grin. _Typical_ , she thought, _trying to charm his way out of this_. She wanted nothing more to slap the smirk off of his face as anger bubbled within her. Here she waited for him, worried that something might have happened to him and he comes stumbling back home drunk without a care in the world.

"Well congratulations then. We've been here two weeks and you already have managed to find a speakeasy".

"It's not like that" he countered, the grin fading from his face as he took in how irritated Leia actually was with him. He had not intended to stay out. A few of the men he worked with invited him along to a joint they knew about out in the desert and before he knew it, one drink had turned into many drinks and the hours had grown late.

"It isn't, Han?" she questioned, her brow ticking up as she watched him intently.

"I never promised you I would stop drinking hooch. I just promised you I'd stop smuggling it".

"I'm not mad you're drinking it. I'm angry that you went to a speakeasy. Next thing I know you'll be telling me it's just one run, just one job...".

Han cut her off, stepping even closer to her with a finger pointing directly at her. His hazel eyes were dark with anger, yet his words came evenly, almost calmly, despite his rigid posture as he stood before her. "After what happened in Oklahoma, I never want to see you, or me, in that position again. If I make a promise, I stick to it. Maybe you should try having a little faith in me every once in awhile".

"I…" Leia began to protest, her words barely leaving her lips before Han interjected again.

"Just stop, Leia. Before one of us says something really stupid".

Leia uncrossed her arms as Han brushed past her as he headed towards the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. She let out a long breath as she heard a thunk from Han's work boots hitting the floor and the squeak of the mattress as he dropped down onto it echo through the apartment. Her stomach churned at his words, wishing she could take back some of her own. There was no reason for her to try and make amends, at least until he was sober and her anger had cooled. Resigning herself to the armchair for the night, she pulled her knees up and rested her feet against the edge of the cushion. She reached for her book, knowing that sleep was not about to come easy to her. Opening the yellowed pages, she smoothed her palm against the paper before picking up where she had left off. At least in stories there were always happy endings.


End file.
